Dear Mt. Lebanon Friends & Neighbors,

Yesterday, the Commission unanimously passed the 2009 budget with a small tax cut and after restoring several programs that were cut in the proposed budget. Many of you have contacted me to express your opinion on the budget, particularly the cuts that were proposed. I wanted to wait until the budget was formally approved before I provided you with an update and a “behind the scenes” look at what happened. Most of the cuts have been reinstated back in the budget that was approved yesterday. Please feel free to contact me for clarification on any items in the approved budget.

Here is a summary of what happened:
* On Nov 1st, Steve Feller, the Municipal Manager, proposed a 2009 budget that was balanced and without a tax increase but with some services (like Teen Center, First Fridays, Dave Hornak’s position) eliminated.
* Since the release of the proposed budget, I have gone through the budget line by line and created recommendations focused on increasing revenues and reducing expenses. I worked with Commissioner Joe DeIuliis who came up with additional savings (particularly with his expertise in the Public Works area). My initial recommendations were emailed to the Commission and Steve Feller on Nov 20th. The Municipality provided their feedback during the budget review meeting on Dec 2nd. I reviewed the feedback and provided final recommendations during the final budget review meeting on Dec 8th.
* My recommendations provided savings of about $720,000 from increases in revenue and reduction in expenses. After adding back services that were cut (Teen Center, First Fridays, Farmers Market, Historic Society funding, Dave Hornak’s position, etc) and including a 5% tax cut in millage, there was still about $52,000 left over as bottom line savings.
* At the final budget review meeting on Dec 8th, the Commission went through these recommendations line by line in a 13 page spreadsheet that I provided to the Commission and the appropriate Municipal Managers. The Commission made updates and added items that reduced these savings to about $178K based upon the preferences of a majority of the Commission. These savings are now being passed back to the residents as a millage reduction.

I have been discussing improving efficiencies and coming up with tax savings for some time now. The economic conditions that we face today are extraordinary and I am glad that we have been able to find a way to not only restore key services that were cut, but also pass along a small tax cut.

I appreciate the help of the entire Commission and the Municipality in making this possible. I want to thank all the Citizens who took time to email, speak and write to the Commission. Not only did the Citizens make it clear as to what services were critical, they were instrumental in providing several solutions that I included in my recommendations.

Mt. Lebanon is probably one of the first communities to pass a tax cut while restoring cut services in these difficult economic times. In my experience, initiating a new change (i.e. tax cut) is probably the hardest part. Considering that the tax rate has increased 24.6% over the past 5 years, the small tax cut is a good example of change and of collaborative participation between the Residents, Municipality & the Commission.

If you are interested in reading the details on how this was achieved behind the scenes, then read on. I have been asked to provide a write-up on the details for a publication and I am providing this in a draft MBA case study format. I solicit feedback from the Commission, Municipality and the Residents so that I can update with any suggestions prior to submitting the final version.

I welcome discussing with you any of the particular details and look forward to your responses. This is available online at www.joinraja.com and I can be reached via email raja@mtlebanon.org or at 412-341-7252.

Wish all of you and your families a wonderful holiday & Happy New Year. Thanks.

Raja
Commissioner, 1st Ward, Mt. Lebanon

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How Mt. Lebanon was able to reduce taxes while restoring key service cuts during these tough economic times?
Draft, December 16, 2008

Introduction:
Mt. Lebanon is a #1 community that is known for its outstanding services (ex: great public safety). Taxes have been flat for years and expenses have increased in the past several years which resulted in tax increases of 24.6% over the past 5 years. This year, Mt. Lebanon took on this challenge and, with fiscal discipline, found a way to restore service cuts from a proposed budget and also pass along a small tax cut to the residents.

The Challenge:
From a macro level, and as a starting point, here are some facts from the 2009 Recommended Budget released by Steve Feller (Mt. Lebanon’s Municipal Manager):
• Mt. Lebanon’s tax revenues have been flat for a couple of years and are expected to continue through 2009.
• On the expense side, there been increase in costs to the tune of $1,412,700 in 2009. (Details provided later.)
Steve Feller, the Municipal Manager, came up with a balanced budget for 2009 without tax increases. However, several cuts such as Teen Center, Ice Rink Assistant manager’s (Dave Hornak’s) position, First Fridays, etc were proposed and the Commission heard loud and clear from the residents about the importance of these services.

As we went through the budget review for past several weeks, the challenges were clear and there seemed to be no clear solution. At one point, one of the other Commissioners stated in a public discussion session that he would be inclined to raise taxes to restore some of the services that were cut in the Manager’s proposed budget.

The Solution:
Today’s economic condition is extraordinary. My belief is that we (i.e. the Commission, the Municipality and the Residents) needed to look at efficiencies and come up with a solution that not only restored the key services that were cut but also ensured that we provide a tax cut back to the residents of Mt. Lebanon.

Coming from the Private Sector, I have been on both sides of the budget i.e. as CEO and as part of the Board and have expertise creating and reviewing budgets for many years. I went through the budget line by line and focused on increasing revenue, reducing expenses and coming up with enough bottom line savings that we could restore key services and also provide a tax cut. I made an initial draft of the recommendations with savings of about $540,800 and met with Commissioner Joe DeIuliis who further enhanced the savings by about $194,000. The bottom line from increased revenues and reduced expenses was $734,800. Adding back many of the cut services like Teen Center, First Fridays, Farmers Market, Parades, Historic Society, Dave Hornak’s position, etc and providing a real estate tax cut of 5% (i.e. reducing the millage from 4.97 to 4.72), there was still $78,310 left over as bottom line savings.

I emailed the recommendations contained in an Excel spreadsheet to the Commission and Steve Feller on November 30th. The various items were reviewed with the different departments and Willy McKain CPA (Mt. Lebanon’s Director of Finance) provided a response back from the Municipality during the Commission meeting on Dec 2nd. I went through all the responses and met with several Commissioners to create a new version that now had $720,540 as bottom line from increased revenues and reduced expenses. With more of the cuts reversed and while also including a 5% millage tax cut, there was still $52,230 left over as bottom line savings.

The final budget review meeting started at 7pm and ended around 11pm on Mon, Dec 8th. I had provided hard copies of the updated spreadsheet with $720,540 in increased revenues and increased expenses to the Commission and the Municipal Managers reviewing the budget. I want to thank the Commission, the Municipal Managers, Directors & Staff for going through and responding to this spreadsheet line by line (roughly from 8pm to11pm). Steve did a good job in facilitating the feedback on each item to get the consensus of the majority of the Commission. Some items were passed at their original amounts in the spreadsheet, some were negotiated down and some eliminated. From a starting point of $720,540, these changes reduced the net savings to about $178,000. These savings will now be passed on the tax payer as lower millage from 4.97 to 4.89 in 2009.

20/20
My article “20/20” in the Mt. Lebanon Magazine (available online at www.joinraja.com) a few months ago highlighted my thoughts on increasing revenue and reducing expenses with a focus on improving efficiencies by 20% (with the objective of keeping the service level the same) and providing a 20% tax cut to the residents.

The millage tax cut of that passed by the Commission was only 1.6% (178K out of $10.575M). The economic conditions of today have had a clear impact on the potential savings. Just as an example, I want to hypothesize how this could have been 20%.
• The net savings from my recommendations (including Commissioner DeIuliis suggestions) with increases in revenue, reductions in expenses and with restoration of key services that were cut was $574.240.
• Increased costs faced by the Municipality were $1,412,700 (based upon the increases in fringe benefits primarily due to employee health insurance ($308,200), increase in pension costs (129,000), increases in refuse collection ($480,500), fuel ($105,000), utilities ($140,000), MRTSA ($94,000) and salt ($56,000) along with a need to increase the undesignated fund balance ($100,000)).
• In my recommendations, in many areas I had chosen to make reductions in the 2009 budget if they were notably increased over actual amounts for 2006 and 2007 (and 2008 year-to-date where appropriate) and maintained a reasonable and justifiable increase in 2009. By being more stringent on the 2009 budget (ex: keeping it more in line with prior year actual amounts), additional savings of $129,587 could have been generated.
The total of all the above items is $2.117 Million which could have provided marginally over a 20% reduction in millage. The economy has had an impact of all sectors including Mt. Lebanon and while we need to adjust to current economic factors, the hypothesis is just to show how a 20% millage tax savings could have been possible.

Summary:
Mt. Lebanon is probably one of the first communities to pass a tax cut while restoring cut services in these difficult economic times. In my experience, initiating a new change (i.e. tax cut) is probably the hardest part. Considering that the tax rate has increased 24.6% over the past 5 years, the small tax cut is a good example of change and of collaborative participation between the Residents, Municipality & the Commission. It is my hope that the Commission, Municipality and the Residents will continue to seek fiscal discipline and improve efficiencies to provide the best return to the tax payer in Mt. Lebanon in the future years.

Selling McNeilly to fund Mellon Turfing/Lighting

Hi Everyone,

The various sports groups collectively represented by Chip Dalesandro and Scott Hagy presented to the Commission a few weeks ago and indicated their highest priority was putting artificial turf and lighting in Mellon Field and that the Municipality should sell McNeilly field (as a source of funding). I think the Commission made progress with respect to McNeilly field last Monday evening when they requested Steve Feller (with the appropriate individuals in the Municipality) to come up with a plan to put McNeilly field up for sale.

Mt. Lebanon’s debt (via bond issue) has increased by 64% over the past 5 years and I am not in favor of issuing further bond issuance this year unless there are specific circumstances that warrant this. My philosophy has always been to ask every individual to treat any organization’s money like it is their own whether it is in the private sector (ex: if you are working for a for-profit company or non-profit group) or the public sector (ex: if you are either overseeing or working for a Municipality). Especially with the current economic environment, would you not be extra careful with your finances when your savings have been impacted and possibly facing job insecurity also? I think it is prudent to watch bond debt particularly in this current economic environment.

Selling McNeilly is a good option to fund Mellon turfing/lighting and other capitals needs of the Municipality. Also, McNeilly can help generate tax revenue to Mt. Lebanon based upon usage (residential, commercial, etc). This is the first time I believe that the Commission has made a formal step with regard to the sale of McNeilly (this is just an initial step; this may have to come up for a formal vote sometime in the future). We can take now an asset (i.e. McNeilly) that is unused and fund Mellon Turfing & Lighting and other important capital needs of Mt. Lebanon.

I would love to hear your thoughts in this regard. Please feel free to call (412-341-7252) or email (raja@mtlebanon.org). Thanks.

Raja

Increasing revenue to Mt. Lebanon with zoning changes

Hi Everyone,

I meant to post this a couple weeks ago; however, I got delayed in doing so.

The 2009 budget is going to be challenging. There have been significant increases in costs for some areas (like garbage collection, insurance premiums, etc). We are still faced with the uncertainty of tax income due to the current economic environment. While we need to look at costs and efficiencies for immediate impact, we need to focus on increasing revenue in the long term. I want to share with you a large revenue impact issue I believe we need to address.

Mt. Lebanon’s Economic Development Council (EDC) Task Force that I initiated about a year ago has been focusing on brainstorming and acting on different approaches/initiatives to improve the economy of the business districts. One item that surfaced from these brainstorming/discussion sessions is the issue of zoning that, if addressed properly, could bring significant revenue to the Municipality.

A building like the Washington Park Condos could generate about $500K annually to the Municipality in terms of real estate taxes (both annual and one time transfer fees) and earned income taxes. It seems to me that if we had 10 such buildings in our business districts then Mt. Lebanon would have $5M in additional revenues annually.

I understand that our current zoning ordinances have restrictions that are not conducive for (re) development. To illustrate, the current zoning requires any new building to have a setback in front and/or back of the property. I do not understand why it is alright for the Municipal building to abut the sidewalk while any new construction is not permitted to do so. In addition there are zoning restrictions with lot coverage and parking that may be too restrictive. I know that Mt. Lebanon is a residential neighborhood; however, we are talking just about the business districts.

I am told that the current zoning is to prevent “big box” type of development; however, we can not have our zoning restrictions preclude development of office and residential buildings in our business districts. At the last Commission meeting the Commission directed the Planning Board to look into the same and make recommendations on changes to proactively attract (re)development of large office and residential buildings in our business districts. I am looking forward to the recommendations of the Planning Board in this regard since the impact of this can be very significant.

As always, your feedback is much appreciated. Thanks.

Raja

Every 5 months, a Commissioner gets to write an article in the Mt. Lebanon Magazine. The October edition is my turn and my article is titled “20/20”. This must have been read by residents last weekend as I have received a lot of positive feedback via email and phone. I am posting the entire article in this blog entry as it provides a baseline for some follow-up items that I plan to write about:

(i) Generating efficiency ideas from within the Municipality
(ii) Best practices approach for increasing efficiency
(iii) Revenue-increasing ideas from within the Municipality & various organizations in Mt. Lebanon
(iv) Strategic blueprints for increasing revenue

As always, I look forward to hearing your comments. Thanks.

Raja

20-20

You are all familiar with the saying “Hindsight can be 20-20”. Let me provide a little background prior to offering how “Foresight can also be 20-20”.

Mt. Lebanon is a wonderful community with many strengths. We have an impressive public safety record, great schools, tree lined streets, historic homes, distinctive business districts and, exceptional residents. But Mt. Lebanon, like so many communities in Southwestern Pennsylvania, isn’t growing. This flat lined trend along with increased municipal taxes (24.6% increase since 2002) and increased debt (63.8% increase since 2002) creates a potential negative trend that threatens our current quality of life.

I believe Mt. Lebanon can reverse this trend now. With a focus towards generating increased revenue, greater fiscal control and lower taxes we can provide a foundation for strong economic growth and a real chance for our children and grandchildren to continue to enjoy the Mt. Lebanon of today.

A June 2008 study “A Strategic Competitive Analysis of Residential Real Estate in Mt. Lebanon”, by Dougherty & Easton, Graduate School of Public & International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh states “Panelists identified perceived high taxes as a major issue for Mount Lebanon (“the big one”) that impacts the decision of single buyers, families and empty nesters alike.”

Lower taxes have proven to spur economic development and higher home prices; the bottom line is that the net income becomes greater in the long run. The 20-20 foresight approach suggests a 20% tax cut with a corresponding 20% change in net income which comes from both increased revenue and reduced expenses.

Mt. Lebanon is blessed with unique business districts. I have enjoyed the opportunity to spearhead our business districts’ strategic plan created by Mt. Lebanon’s Economic Development Council Task Force (available online at mtlebanon.org). By bringing in new businesses and expanding the office space and residential space footprint in our business districts, we can generate significant tax revenue.

Let me offer a couple of ideas on ways to function more efficiently and reduce expenses:

1. Conduct a Municipal Best Practices and Service Levels review by an outside consulting firm: I do not believe that we have undertaken a comprehensive private sector “process re-engineering / optimization” study to identify ways the municipality might be more efficient and productive. However, there is no point in spending any $ with a consulting firm unless the mandate is to target a certain percent of cost savings and the recommendations are followed-through and implemented.

2. Seek new approaches through internal recommendations: The best ideas are most often generated from within the walls of local government. I am suggesting that we not only ask for input, but also reward employees with bonuses for creatively generating savings in providing municipal service without negatively impacting quality.

I know it is neither easy nor popular to cut costs, but we must look for ways to function more efficiently and to optimize the use of technology and improved processes for delivering municipal services. I believe that the right solution for Mt. Lebanon in the long term is to reduce taxes with a focus on increasing revenue and prudent fiscal discipline.

If you subscribe to this philosophy, please contact your Commissioner and let them know to support the 20-20 approach as we finalize the budget for 2009. I would love to hear your opinions; please email me at raja@mtlebanon.org or call 412-341-7252.

Join me in continuing to have Mt. Lebanon be a great place for existing residents and new residents by lowering our taxes, and doing it in a manner that does not impact service or debt. Who needs hindsight when we have foresight!!

As you may be aware, a focus of mine has been to boost the economy of the business districts in Mt. Lebanon. A key issue expressed by all constituents of the business districts was “parking”. The EDC Task force, that I initiated and spearheaded, in the process of creating a Strategic Plan for our Business Districts, highlighted the issues with parking by means of a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis and has come up with several recommendations to address the issues with parking, whether they are perceived or not. The complete Strategic Plan with SWOT details and Parking recommendations are available online at www.mtlebanon.org.

As Commission Liaison to the Parking Authority, I have initiated meetings between the Parking Authority (MLPA), Business & Professional Association (BPA), Building Owners and the EDC Task Force to address these issues. I reached out to Chris Schultz, member of the EDC and fellow MBA alum from CMU, to put together a financial model to evaluate options that provide free parking and greater discount to the BPA’s parking validation program while remaining revenue neutral to the Parking Authority. (Thank you, Chris, for the financial models and your efforts in this regard).

In addition to Chris, I want to thank Al Frioni (Chair of MLPA Board), Rich Sahar (Executive Director of the MLPA) and Joe Ravita (President of BPA) among others for taking time to meet and discuss the various constraints as our conversations evolved into good solutions. Looking at usage patterns in the garages and other factors, we came up with solutions to provide one hour free parking for everyone in the South Garage and also provide the BPA with greater discount on validation. I met with the MLPA Board on Saturday, August 30th to discuss the financial model. I understand that the MLPA Board approved these recommendations at their Board meeting on September 4th. MLPA is currently working on the details of the new program and it is anticipated that the program will be unveiled shortly. I am looking forward to these being implemented, in addition to the various other MLPA initiatives (credit card payments, new parking meters, etc).

I believe that the small wins can go a long way to reenergize the community and free parking is one such win that was achieved at a grass roots level!!

On Friday, September 12th, I was buying lunch at Panera’s on Greentree Road when I ran into a PTA member who asked me, “Why did the Commission want to take Officer Mike Riemer from the school?” After I explained the situation to her, she thanked me and was glad that I had corrected the wrong impression she previously had. In fact, she recommended that I communicate directly to the public. I have not been blogging since I was elected Commissioner and I realize that I should speak out to the residents of Mt. Lebanon concerning important issues.

The facts regarding the Keystone Oaks officer reassignment are as follows. The Commission was presented with a request from Keystone Oaks that they would pay $60K for Mt. Lebanon to reassign an officer to Keystone Oaks. At the end of 2006, Mt. Lebanon was providing an officer to Keystone Oaks and my understanding was that we would receive $60K additional revenue to go back to the same situation at the end of 2006, which was providing the same officer at Keystone Oaks. The Commission voted (3 votes in favor, including myself, and 2 against) to provide an officer to Keystone Oaks and for Mt. Lebanon to receive the $60K. Keep in mind this was not in line with the recommendation of the Police Chief who wanted the Commission to add either another police officer or turn down the proposal from Keystone Oaks. Adding another permanent police officer when we only had a one year commitment from Keystone Oaks did not seem to be a good decision at the time.

Instead of reverting back to the same situation at the end of 2006 (i.e. providing the same officer to provide services back to Keystone Oaks), the Police Chief decided to reassign Mike Riemer, without informing the Commission. It was only when several concerned PTA members emailed me days after this decision was made that I found out about this unexpected change. At the next Commission Executive session, the Police Chief explained the reasons for pulling Mike Riemer out of his school responsibilities and reassigning him to Keystone Oaks. Several new facts were presented at this meeting which did not make it feasible to meet the proposal of Keystone Oaks. I did not and would have never made the decision to take Officer Mike Riemer from his school duties and reassign him.

This is a prime example of when I believe a good decision was improperly executed. Personally, I feel blind-sided by the decision to reassign Officer Riemer. I understood the Chief’s reasons after the additional new facts were presented; however, I believe that the proper communication and presentation of all facts at decision time would have prevented this situation from happening. I have since requested Steve Feller, the municipal manager, to inform the Commission about the implementation details, particularly if the decision is not in line with the recommendation of any of the Municipal Heads.

One positive outcome has arisen from this issue – I realize the importance of clearing up misunderstandings and communicating important issues to the residents of Mt. Lebanon. I intend to continue to keep you informed and look forward to viewing your comments.

Hi Everyone,

Hope you had a great Christmas. Wish all of you and your families a Wonderful 2008.

Here are some updates since the Election:

• I have been working on two ideas to help with the Mt. Lebanon budget for 2008. I have shared these ideas with the Commissioners, Municipal Management and with various groups/boards. The first is with regard to cutting costs and to do this by providing a significant one time bonus (pro-rated in proportion to the savings) to the Municipal management now for cutting operating costs without impacting services or debt; this can only be done after the final budget has been presented. The second is with regard increasing revenue by putting in place a Vision for the Business District, creating grass roots level plans and executing on the same. I have write-ups on both these ideas; so please contact me for details and I will share them with you. (I need to figure out how to post these articles online and put links to them in the blog. Maybe, my good friend, McKeesport Councilman Paul Shelly who is a blog-whiz can help me here!!)
• Pittsburgh Magazine has the 25 most beautiful people in Pittsburgh in their January 2008 edition and I am in this magazine  …  Your disbelief is understandable and you are right :). While I did not make the top 25 list, I am on Page 55 of this magazine. Christine O’Toole is the writer for this article and she lives in the 1st ward; I believe that I knocked on her door prior to the elections and she contacted me after I won. (Knocking on doors has some unforeseen advantages; thanks, Chris!!) Here are the online links to the same: http://www.wqed.org/mag/index.php (Main page of Pittsburgh magazine) and http://www.wqed.org/mag/features/0108/raja.php (Direct link to the article).
• All commissioners are featured in Mt. Lebanon Magazine for January and I am the first one since I represent the 1^st ward. Here is the online link to the same: http://www.mtlebanon.org/DocumentView.asp?DID=2330.
• The Business mentoring group (that I initiated several months ago) is beginning to show results. The Mt. Lebanon Magazine has a “Business Update” on Mave and their commitment to move to Mt. Lebanon. Here is the link that has this article: http://www.mtlebanon.org/DocumentView.asp?DID=2349.
• The Swearing in Ceremony is on Jan 7th (Monday) at 8pm at the Mt.
  Lebanon Municipal Building. I invite all of you to attend; hope to see you then. Judge Cashman has graciously agreed to swear me in and I thank him for the same in advance. The first Commission meeting in on Jan 14th (Monday). I am excited to begin work on the Commission and look forward to making a difference.

Happy New Year!! 

Raja

Hi Everyone,

Thanks to each and every one of you for your support and encouragement over the past several months. The real job begins now. The analogy that I can think of is that I had interviewed with the residents of the 1st Ward and have now been selected. I am looking forward to focusing on the key items that I had discussed throughout my campaign: Vision and measurable goals for Mt. Lebanon, Reducing taxes without compromising service (or increasing debt) and using Online communication for greater transparency.

In my opinion, the best ideas and solutions come from the residents. Please email me your vision for Mt. Lebanon. I also request that you email me any issues that you see in Mt.t Lebanon along with your solutions to address the same.

I want to thank my Campaign Committee for not only their enthusiasm and strategic input, but also for the endless hours that were spent going door to door, setting up Meet & Greets, mailing postcards, etc. I have numerous people to thank and I plan on do so individually. However, I want to thank two people in particular: (i) my wife, Neeta, who did a spectacular job in coordinating many parts of the Campaign and (ii) Campaign Chair, Elaine Warren, who energized the entire group and kept us focused until the very last day => we were scheduled to go door to door even the day before the election!!

Thanks again.

Raja

Hi Everyone,

I have completed my door to door visits for the entire 1st ward. I have been to every house in the 1st ward (I may have missed a few including apartments) over the past 7 weeks. The 1st ward has 7 districts and I covered 1 district per week. The feedback and support has been overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic.

As you may know, the Commission had appointed me to the Economic Development Board a couple of months ago. I have been able to understand the big picture issues from the Economic Development Board. Going door to door has given me the insight on the day to day issues faced by the residents of the 1st ward.

I was able to discuss both the issues and the possible solutions with the residents. At lot of the questions that I received were like “when will this sidewalk issue addressed, ” when will the leaf pickup issue be resolved, “where can I get information on sexual predators living in Mt. Lebanon”, etc. Given my Information Technology background, my recommendation is to implement an online system where (i) a resident can log an issue and the Municipality can respond on when the issue will be addressed (i.e. the resident will know that their sidewalk issue will be resolved on a certain date that may even be a couple of months out), (ii) post all information on line such as deer culling policies, information on sexual predators, etc and (iii) even broadcast commission meetings on the web. The beauty of an online system is that it is available 24×7 and the residents can get the feedback/update at their convenience.

In my opinion, the best solutions come from the residents and we need to have a way to encourage submission of ideas and solutions online to the Commission. This will improve the two way communication between the Commission and the residents and will improve the customer satisfaction of the residents.

I would love to hear from you on solutions to issues faced in Mt. Lebanon along with ideas to improve communication between the Commission and the residents. Thanks.

Raja

Hi Everyone,

Please join me in welcoming Elaine Warren as Campaign Chair. As you may all know, Matt & Erin Smith had a baby girl recently. I thank Matt for everything he has done on the Campaign to-date and I wish his family with the new baby the very best. I am energized about Elaine being the Campaign Chair - those of you who know Elaine clearly know why I say energized. Elaine will keep me and the rest of the Steering Committee moving at full speed through the next several weeks until the election on Nov 6^th.

Here are some other general updates: The 1^st Friday on Sept 7^th was a really good success with us handing out balloons as usual outside the Cyclops Building on Washington Road. Please look for us at the South Hills Chamber of Commerce “Cruisin’ Oldies Fest” on Sunday, September 30 from 1 to 5 PM at South Park Wave Pool and at the Sunrise Rotary Club & Mt. Lebanon Police Association’s Art in the Park festival on Oct 6/7 in Mt. Lebanon Park.

Overall, I have been getting great feedback from everyone in the 1^st ward. The momentum is building and I will keep you posted. Thanks.

Raja