President Forty Fort Borough Council
As Council President of Forty Fort Borough, I can not understate the importance of keeping the communities of the West Side Council of Governments (COG) together. They include Kingston, Forty Fort, Edwardsville, Wyoming, West Wyoming, Swoyersville, Courtdale, Pringle, Exeter, Exeter Twp, West Pittston, Luzerne, Kingston Twp ,and Jackson Twp. This is the first step in forming the relationships needed for regionalization of shared services. Through a municipal service agreement started in 2008 with Kingston, and the non profit Kingston Ambulance, both communities are able to provide Paid first class EMS/Fire Service 24 Hr/Day, 7 Day/Week, to the residents at less cost than a stand alone Volunteer service. We are actively working with other communities in the COG to join the service. Through two municipal service agreements with West Wyoming, Forty Fort provides DPW Services and code enforcement. This allows us to hire more skilled labor and thus better services at an overall reduced cost to both communities Forty Fort also shares police coverage with Swoyersville. Forty Fort has not had a tax increase in 7 years largely impart to these agreements. Through Positive outcomes to our municipal service agreements the communities in the COG are one step closer to regionalization of services. And thus provide the tax payers with high quality professional services at a reduced rate. It Is important to keep these communities together. Thank You