A Williamsport City Councilman who did not make another term after the general election set in motion much of the economic development strategy and directional pathways city officials are prepared to take in the coming year.

Democrat Councilman David Banks recently was honored by resolution and kind words from colleagues in the administration and on council.

Banks was chairman of the city economic revitalization committee, who advocated for continuing to find ways to improve the financial footprint of the city.

Specifically, Banks, as committee chairman, brought to the table items in the realm of economic revitalization. Often, at these meetings, would be guests who were experts in their various fields, such as banking and finance, land development, economic strategies and health care, and representatives of Lycoming College and the Pennsylvania College of Technology.

A fiscal conservative while on council, he was instrumental in adjusting finances. Banks would often express how firmly he believed that Williamsport had enormous potential for growth. Improving the quality of life would have to be done by a combination of remaining fiscal watchdogs for taxpayers while also putting into place economic conditions that would enable the city to grow its tax base, improve its downtown and commercial sectors, and develop short- and long-term economic strategies moving forward, he said.

One of his favorite statements was the city was operating on a budget at bare bones but “we can’t cut into any more of the bone.”

Rather, Banks advocated and pushed for use of whatever grants were available and had an active voice in narrowing down how the city would best spend a portion of its $25.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act money and other means of supporting economic development as a means of improving the city’s financial picture.

Banks was unanimously chosen by council on Jan. 6, 2020, to fill an open council seat and served the city and citizens with dedication, integrity and excellence said his fellow council members.

As he chaired the economic revitalization committee, it worked with the blighted properties review committee and redevelopment authority in promotion of remediation of commercial, residential and industrial blight and promoted economic strategies such as the formation of a land bank that will have capital assets and be empowered to acquire properties that are in tax debt so they can be redeveloped and placed back onto the tax rolls, employing individuals or providing residential housing.

“You helped put things in motion that will benefit the city,” Council President Randall J. Allison said.