Voting

• Introduced discussion to decrease barriers to obtaining handicapped parking designation on the street outside of residents homes

  • Passed 8/2024.  Now you are only required to submit proof of handicapped parking placard and the borough manager will handle!

• Resolutions related to 2024 budget 11/20/23

  • Voted no to resolution 999-23  (Increase millage to 15.5 starting 2024)

    • Millage is amount of tax you will owe Mt Oliver.  For will owe $15.50 for every $1,000 of property assessed (for example, if your home is assessed at $50,000 you will owe Mt Oliver $775 per year)

  • Voted no to resolution 898-23 (2024 fee scheduled) 

    • I support fee for business to rent "The Deck", I do support a fee for residential use.  Cultivating community is an important use of government owned spaces.  Private companies that seek to profit from the use of government owned spaces should compensate the borough.

    • I do not support the elimination of road closure permits for block parties and other residential requests in the interest of community building.  The use of parks should be encouraged but there is value in highly visible events.

    • I do not support $4 per month for the "Mt Oliver Clean and Green Fund Grant or Senior Citizen Discount" without an additional resolution stipulating specifics of the program, including provisions for unspent money at the end of the fiscal year

• Voted no to resolution 899-23 (Police chief contact)

  • I support increased bereavement time for the police chief.  This contract provides 4 days of paid bereavement after loss of child, spouse or parent

  • I support paid holidays to be aligned with current federal holidays.  The birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Juneteenth National Independence Day are not currently recognized by Mt Oliver. 

• Decorum Policy 11/21/22

  • Voted Yes to adopt Decorum Policy that would promote equity and respect by allowing time for residents to speak without interruptions for a specified amount of time and limit expletive speech

• CeaseFire PA brief 9/2022

  • Voted Yes to sign onto a CeaseFire PA brief in support of alowing local governments to create gun legislation

• Extend probationary period or terminate 7/2022

  • Voted to terminate police officer involved in shooting 

• Hometown Heroes Program 4/2022

  • Voted No due to concerns about lack of diversity and concerns that the "hometown heroes" do not adequately reflect the population of Mt Oliver 

Current/upcoming issues

• Recycling

  • After a thorough review of financial costs and societal benefits, it is not fiscally responsible to add recycling to curbside garbage.  There is a self-serve glass recycling container at Transverse Park.  City of Pittsburgh offers self-serve paper, plastic (#1-5) and glass recycling at McKinley Park, which is nearby to Mt Oliver.

  • I am an adcovate of recycling, and environmental and climate justice are essential for that to be possible.  I asked Pennsylvania Resource Council to look for grants to pay for recycling for Mt Oliver residents.  We can't have a healthy planet if access to recycling and carbon reducing interventions are not financially accessible. 

• Short term renals (ex: Air BNB)

  • Reviewing current zoing regulations to protect communities and prevent rising housing costs that limit current redients ability to maintin housing in Mt Oliver.  Regulations need to be strongest for units owned by real estate companies and owners that do not live in the property or in Mt Oliver.