Williamsport mayor views connections with other city leaders, contractors as ‘invaluable’
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"You really can't put a price tag on that."
That is what Mayor Derek Slaughter expressed in a video interview when asked about his role attending various conferences where he comes into contact with other mayors, township and municipal officials, third-party contractors and experts in various fields.
Among his travels are to the Pennsylvania Municipal League conferences, where he has served as the organization's first vice president and is expected to be the organization's president this fall.
During these visits he said he makes personal connections -- some of them yielding surprises -- including connections to further relationships with other city mayors who are either planning, working on or have done similar projects that would benefit the city residents and Greater Williamsport.
"The connections you make there are invaluable," said Slaughter, who said when he attends Pennsylvania Municipal League conferences, he advocates on behalf of the city, learns what other cities' mayors are doing along with township supervisors and municipal managers and brings back "nuggets."
This can be listening and learning, municipal concepts and technologies and ways to govern that can only be accomplished by face-to-face meetings, plenty of handshakes, or as he put it "getting to know who does what and learning from each other."
Learning and sharing
Whether that is from Mayor Michael Lombardo of Pittston, Mayor Danene Sorace of Lancaster, Mayor Paige Cognetti or Mayor Ed Gainey of Pittsburgh, each may be doing similar projects to that of Williamsport or might have suggestions on how to accomplish a task.
"We are a tight-knit group of folks," he said. "They may have a project they are working on and I am able to learn from and it is going to save us a lot of time."
As an example, Slaughter said he reached out to Scranton's mayor because that city was in the process of building a splash park.
A splash pad is automated, with an accessible surface area with features that spray and splash clean recycled water on children and families with the press of a button, a blast for a couple of minutes and much needed relief free of charge in the heat of the summer.
Cognetti and her team saved the city a significant amount of time by sharing plans, ideas and what worked and didn't work, Slaughter attested.
The result was a splash pad installed this year in Shaw Park, which once operating systems were up and running and checks made – operated nicely. The city is exploring a second splash pad in the city's West End, possibly at Newberry Park, also known as Mayor Phil Preziosi Park.
"Getting out to the different conferences, professional development and making these connections – not just with officials from state agencies but with outside contractors that may want to invest in Williamsport or can help the city in various ways," he said, citing this as the value of having the mayor as a face of the city, a reference made by Councilman Randy Allison when the council was reviewing the mayor's travel expenses.
Slaughter also cited – as one of those "invaluable" connections – contractor, Tracey Rash, manager of Government Finance Solutions, who, in her short time with the city, he said, revamped the city finance picture, helping it gain more solid footing, answered council's questions on budget and finance and helped to redo "our city budget," and the capital projects budget." he said.
"You can't quantify the changes and the positive impact she has made," Slaughter said.