Borough of Wormleysburg

BOROUGH OF WORMLEYSBURG BOROUGH COUNCIL 20 Market Street • Wormleysburg, PA 17043 Chairman Mark A. Nordenberg 2021 PA Legislative Reapportionment Commission P.O. Box 203079 Harrisburg, PA 17120 Subject: Opposition to PA Redistricting as Proposed for District 103 Dear Chair Nordenberg and Commissioners, I am writing as Council President on behalf of the residents of Wormleysburg Borough, which is located on the west bank of the Susquehanna River directly across from Downtown Harrisburg, to stand in unanimous opposition to the redistricting plan. If implemented as outlined in the Composite Listing (dated 12/16/21) for the House of Representatives, Wormleysburg would be removed from District 88, based wholly in Cumberland County, and added to District 103, which shares various parts of Harrisburg City in Dauphin County. Wormleysburg was founded in 1815, more than 200 years ago. Over that time, residents have always been actively and deeply connected to their Cumberland County history and roots. Likewise, Borough Council is linked directly with many neighboring and nearby communities and employers on the West Shore with few relationships in the City of Harrisburg. And for good reason The City's interests have customarily been opposite that of the small suburban communities which surround it. It would be an enormous challenge-if not impossible­ for one person to represent both sides of the many issues that will arise. That person would be placed in a constant state of conflicting interests, continually unable to meet the needs of constituents in a meaningful way. Our concerns include the following points. • For decades, Wormleysburg leaders and elected representatives have cultivated and maintained strong, often lifetime, relationships with the elected officials from the Commonwealth of PA, our District 88 House Representative, our District 31 Senator, the Capital Area Council of Governments, the Cumberland County Commissioners, and the County's various departments, staffs, boards and work teams. This is necessary to facilitate the multitude of government functions that support Borough operations. Compelling the Borough to link into a cross-county district would represent a significant disservice to our residents, along with an unfair expectation that residents should be compelled to shoulder the burden of increased costs to maintain both networks. • Students from Wormleysburg attend the schools within the West Shore School District, also based in Cumberland County. The proposed move to District 103 would add not only the WSSD but also East Penn and Camp Hill districts, making that representative responsible to four school districts, all of which have vastly different student populations with very diverse learning and support needs. It would also be unreasonably difficult for school administrators and leaders to coordinate on common issues. When the legislature should be reducing barriers to participation and cooperation, this plan adds more organizational voices in the mix, making collaboration unnecessarily complex and, at some point, more costly. Wormleysburg and the Borough of Lemoyne share police and fire services by long-standing cooperative inter-municipal agreements for the West Shore Regional Police Department (merged in 1995) and the West Shore Bureau of Fire (merged in 1999). Additionally, these agreements have led to the acquisition of shared debt for common operating costs, such as the mortgage on a new fire house. We will also share the cost of the new emergency management radio system being implemented for use of emergency responders in Cumberland County. • In the last two years, Wormleysburg has been working on a strategic revitalization plan to add services, assess options for more affordable residential housing, enhance business opportunities, and build stronger engagement with residents. Much of this work has been undertaken through or with endorsements from Cumberland County-based agencies and partnerships for grants and other funding opportunities for deferred maintenance and general improvements. Compelling Wormleysburg into Harrisburg-focused funding channels would likely result in a loss of the Borough's competitive position or failure to qualify for development opportunities and funding. The proposed communities of interest that would form a new District 103 share few, if any, commonalities as constituencies. These populations do not share infrastructure, micro­ economies, hospital or ambulance services, public transportation, demographics, lifestyles, socio-economic profiles, nor locations from which residents access human service programs. • The geographic boundaries of the Susquehanna River bifurcate and break the physical contiguity of representation, nor is it compact, which is a violation of two of the primary recommendations from the Governor's Redistricting Advisory Council. The best examples to prove this point are Central PA's two largest chambers. Wormleysburg Borough is a proud and active member of the West Shore Chamber of Commerce but has never once been invited to join nor participate in the Harrisburg Regional Chamber of Commerce. • Civic activities are shared and promoted within shore-based social media networks and publications. There have been few, if any, ties to any part of the City of Harrisburg, nor do residents show any interest in developing such ties. This is further evidenced by the purposeful choices people make when purchasing property, electing an east or west shore homestead, to meet their personal needs. We understand the process which underpins this effort; however, we also believe that this proposal does not follow the legal guidelines. Clearly the proposed "new" district is contrary to the constitutional construct which speaks to maintaining the history and geography of legislative districts. Given the very real differences between, as weir as the disparity of challenges faced by, Wormleysburg and Harrisburg, the proposed redistricting map clearly fails to provide for effective representation for the needs of West Shore citizens. In addition to the obvious lack of fit at the local and regional level, it appears this proposal may be part of an attempt, to make it more difficult for voters to truly elect a representative of their choice. This is especially important in considering the view of our citizens with respect to higher taxes, efficient government spending, and social welfare programs. These concerns could be diluted and, eventually, lost to representation. On behalf of our constituents, who would be directly disadvantaged by the proposed changes, the borough council stands opposed to any redistricting map that would violate the standing rule of law related to districts being compact, contiguous, and that they respect county, city, borough, and township boundaries. The proposed legislative district map does not consider these elements in its effect on the Borough of Wormleysburg, and more specifically the borough's county heritage, roots and continuity of community. We strongly encourage the Commission to respect those longstanding connections and allow Wormleysburg and its municipal neighbors to retain representation and leadership that fs based in, committed to, and fighting for the specific needs of our citizens. Sincerely yours, Joseph Deklinski Council President Borough of Wormleysburg cc: Borough of Lemoyne Council Borough of Camp Hill Council East Pennsboro Township Board of Supervisors Cumberland County Commissioners PA House Representative Sheryl Delozier PA Senator Mike Regan PA Governor Tom Wolfe /Is