Homestead Borough

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Civic engagement, public participation and transparency are regularly assessed and facilitated.

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A Historic Review Commission is active.

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Municipality communicates with the public via a regularly scheduled newsletter or regularly updated web based communications.

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A program exists to actively pursue and match residents and local businesses to volunteer opportunities to better the community and assist the local government.

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Municipality is an active participant in a Council of Governments.

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The municipality utilizes Intergovernmental Cooperative Agreements (ICA) to engage in multi-municipal endeavors.

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Professional development for municipal personnel and officials includes participating (at a minimum, per year) in quarterly Local Government Academy, PA DCED or other professional training association programs.

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Municipality has or is in the process of retrofitting street lights and traffic signals to LED bulbs.

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Municipality maintains an updated Public Safety comprehensive plan to be sure staffing and financial resources keep pace with municipal needs for Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services.

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Municipality participates in a regional service program or contracts services to or through other municipalities for fire, police, or EMS.

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Municipality maintains updated public safety mutual aid agreements with neighboring municipalities and shares resources.

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Taxation takes a balanced approach applicable to all sectors of municipal services provided and fees satisfy cost recovery.

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A revenue-expenditure trend analysis is conducted annually.

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Funds for capital-related borrowing are not used for day to day expenses.

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Municipality routinely evaluates ability to ensure that revenue is sufficient to maintain public infrastructure, i.e., road, water, sewer, stormwater (community has an asset management based budget system).

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Professional staff are employed or retained, in the areas of budgeting and finance.

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Cooperation is occurring with neighboring municipalities to manage water and sewer supply, treatment and distribution, sewage and stormwater, in the most cost-efficient way.

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Sufficient investments are being made to the water, sewer, and stormwater systems per real costs and keeping pace with maintenance and operations.

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The municipality utilizes an Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Planning Approach (as described by EPA) to identify the municipality?s priorities for projects and includes a description of how the proposed priorities reflect the relative importance of adverse impacts on human health and water quality and the municipality?s financial capability. See: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/integratedplans.cfm

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The municipality actively encourages water conservation and efficiency measures in the community and among businesses.

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Low impact development and onsite stormwater infiltration is encouraged.

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A burn ban has been formally adopted and made part of municipal ordinance, and State or County outdoor wood fired boiler construction and operation is in accordance with state law

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The municipality and its municipal waste hauler service are exploring ways to reduce emissions from vehicles and trucks beyond anti-idling.

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Tree and woodlands protection and management policies are in place (for example, community forestry plan and canopy goal; tree planting programs; tree maintenance programs; tree hazard and health assessment projects; computerized assessment of municipal trees, Tree/woodland replacement criteria in ordinances, etc.).

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Low impact and green development projects, as well as techniques (pervious pavement, bioswales, cisterns, woodland and steep slope protection) are fostered through incentives, ordinances and design guidelines.

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Policies, plans and ordinances protect wetlands and waterways and their buffers.

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Written policies exist and ordinances and incentives have been enacted to conserve environmentally and ecologically sensitive places (for example, slopes over 25%, slide prone soils and geology, springs and vernal pools, mature woodlands, Natural Heritage Areas, etc.) in order to protect public safety and natural resources while using green infrastructure for stormwater management.

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Sustainable landscape maintenance practices are in place for parks and municipal grounds.

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Police are trained on the rights and responsibilities of bicyclists and state law on passing bicycles.

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An expanded material recycling program is being advanced, i.e., e-waste, composting, pharmaceuticals, and household hazardous waste for community-wide collection.

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Provide an on-line link to description of a sustainability innovation that the Municipal Manager/Secretary feels strongly is deserving of additional recognition and is not covered by any of the above criteria options.

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Provide an on-line link to description of a second sustainability innovation that the Municipal Manager/Secretary feels strongly is deserving of additional recognition and is not covered by any of the above criteria options.

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Professional staff are employed or retained to manage the land use program.

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Land use and development decisions are assessed to ensure they do not have negative fiscal, stormwater, traffic, infrastructure, or service demands, or quality of life impacts on neighboring municipalities.

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Staffing is in place sufficient to enforce building and maintenance codes.

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The municipality utilizes a system for collection of delinquent taxes and fees in order to mitigate blight and abandonment.

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Trails for walking and bicycling are being developed or maintained

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Public transportation and ride sharing are promoted and facilitated, as is transit-oriented development (where applicable).

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All municipal buildings have an active recycling program.

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Alternate transportation (e.g. transit, inter-modal, multi-modal, bicycle/pedestrian) are accommodated and promoted.

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The municipality has adopted the International Property Maintenance Code within the last 6 years per good, safe rental housing.

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A program is being implemented to put blighted, abandoned properties back into productive use: smart rehab code, conservatorship, demolition, acquisition, green lot strategies, etc.

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The municipality has assessed Main Street program options and opportunities for possible applicability and implementation.

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A current inventory of vacant and blighted/blighting properties is maintained and mapped.

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The zoning ordinance provides for or accommodates a full range of housing opportunities throughout the community.

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The comprehensive plan addresses the community benefits of and need for expanding housing choice.

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A program exists (perhaps in partnership with an outside agency) to facilitate home ownership: homebuyer incentives, employer-assisted housing, community land trust, etc.

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The municipality has elected to administer and enforce PA's statewide Uniform Construction Code (UCC).

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Measures are taken to ensure a wide range of candidates are interviewed for all municipal job openings i.e., the Rooney Rule.

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The municipality has a written municipal policy prohibiting discrimination and valuing diversity and inclusion.

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Drinking water and sanitary sewer rates are based on the real cost of providing service.

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Municipal planning is coordinated with the school district and the two meet together at least once per year.

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The municipality and local public schools cooperate to share facilities and other resources. (For example, the municipality assists with the cost of evening lifeguards for community use of a school swimming pool or for provision of crossing guards.)

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The municipality supports a program (or cooperates with neighboring communities) to engage residents in strengthening sustainable food systems to link local foods, farms and people (ex. Buy Fresh Buy Local initiative, Good Food Neighborhood, etc.).

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A community produce garden(s) is available.

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Programs by local government, or in cooperation with the non-profit and private sector, exist to address community health concerns, i.e. exercise programs, feeding programs for children and the elderly, crime watches, accessible health care, exercise away from areas of air pollution, etc.

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Outdoor recreation opportunities, amenities, and lifestyles are promoted.

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The municipality has reviewed ordinances, resolutions, and other policies to remove impediments to the use of alternative energy (wind, solar, geothermal) installations or green buildings.