Berks League of Women Voters

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Areas of Interest

The Board of the LWVBC recommends that the following items be adopted:

LAND USE (Adopted 1974, revised 1994) Land use decisions set the pattern of how a culture will develop and determine our very quality of life. The League of Women Voters of Berks County, supports policies which protect prime farmland and open space, improves the availability of affordable housing, protects our limited natural and cultural resources, and provides real incentives for development to occur in our older urban areas where it is most needed. The League supports the establishment of a county or regional agency (which includes the City of Reading) to develop and enforce a comprehensive plan for zoning regulations in its jurisdiction, such to strike a balance between development and preservation.

All zoning agencies should continue to have well publicized public hearings, environmental impact analysis and economic feasibility statements. Officials making decisions should disclose their real estate holdings within the jurisdiction.

The League will study and may support the concept of concurrence which requires that infrastructure necessary to sustain a particular level of development be in place either before that development occurs or be phased in while the development is occurring. This allows local government to use infrastructure to shape growth and reduces the expensive and wasteful situation where taxpayers foot the bill to provide the necessary road, sewer, and water after the development is in place.

Concurrence, coordination, consistency and the cooperation of all participants needs to be encouraged if good planning of growth is to be achieved.

The League encourages governments to classify valuable open land as preserves and make them available for public use through tax-benefit donation programs and outright purchase.

LIBRARIES (Adopted February, 1983, revised 1999) The League of Women Voters of Berks County supports a county wide library system, financed by the county general fund, that meets state standards and includes the  Reading Public Library as a district center. Libraries should be conveniently located throughout the county, and should have hours and service adequate to meet the needs of the surrounding population. The library system should be run by professionals, but volunteers should be encouraged.

The Berks County Public Library system and its members should meet the minimum state standards to receive the maximum amount of state aid. The League recommends that the county, the city, the townships and the boroughs all share in the financial support of the system to meet this goal.

The League supports the current electronic links among the libraries and  information sources and the Internet. Communication and services to patrons may also be enhanced by cooperation within the library community, including public schools, colleges and special libraries.

The League supports efforts to inform the public about the many valuable services of the public libraries in Berks County.

Good public library service is necessary for the ongoing education of the residents of Berks County.

BERKS COUNTY PRISON (Adopted June 1980 and updated May 1983) The League of Women Voters of Berks County supports bringing the Berks County Prison into compliance with minimum standards of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Corrections. The. League of Women Voters also recommends that the Prison work toward the recommended guidelines of the Bureau.

The League supports the use and development of community programs as alternatives to incarceration such as-service programs or weekend sentencing for nonviolent crimes. The League supports the establishment of a halfway house for male and female releases.

The League supports improvements in prison facilities, staff, and programs, including single cells for all residents and equal or separate access by female residents to common and special-use areas; adequate correctional, counseling, medical, and educational staff; programs for institutional work, vocational/educational training, recreation and preparation for release. The League supports contact visitation.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL COOPERATION (Adopted April 1977, Revised May 1997) The League of Women Voters of Berks County supports more effective intergovernmental cooperation and encourages joint solutions to area wide problems without posing a threat to local autonomy. We will study intergovernmental cooperation as it relates to our other local recommended program items.

BERKS COUNTY GOVERNMENT (Adopted May, 1997) The League of Women Voters of Berks County will study the charter recommended by the Berks County Government Study Commission and select areas to bring to the county commissioners for inclusion in county government policies and procedures.

WELFARE (Adopted May, 1999)

The LWVBC will study the effects of the new child care regulations resulting from the Pennsylvania Welfare Reform Act. Areas of particular concern are: access to child care (availability of transportation, sufficient numbers of Qualified providers, hours care is available), cost of care, income cap on eligibility of subsidy, quality of care (including screening of all providers), and accommodations for children with disabilities. LWVBC will also advocate for thorough training for all case managers so they can fully advise consumers of their rights to child care under the new regulations.