Increased Police on the Street: Mayor Pawlowski added police officers to the budget, helping the department recover from an unprecedented wave of retirements. Ten new officers have been added for 2010.
Initiated Hi-Tech Security Network: Ed secured state and federal grants to implement a state-of-the-art security surveillance network with over 80 cameras watching city streets.
Decreased Crime: City crime statistics have dropped for the fifth year in a row according to the FBI and state police. Over the past four years has seen crime decrease by over 26% and violent crime decline by over 19%. %. In 2010 almost every major area of crime decreased.
Tackled Quality-of-Life Issues: Ed cleaned up crime hot spots and targeted graffiti vandals, irresponsible landlords and nuisance crimes, such as excessive noise. Ed stated the first ever Landlord Hall of Shame calling out slumlords and targeting problem properties in the community.
Strong Fiscal Management
Reversed Allentown’s Financial Future: Ed transformed an inherited 8-million-dollar deficit into a 14-million-dollar cash reserve. He took a city drowning in red ink into the black, helping Allentown weather the nation’s economic downturn.
Streamlined Government Spending: Ed reduced the cost of labor across the board – As a result we now have the lowest staff level in almost 30 years. Ed tackled the big issues like our dramatically increasing health care costs and massively rising pension obligations. Ed converted traffic signals to LED technology, reducing electrical consumption and saving more than $120,000 annually. He reduced Allentown’s vehicle fleet and consolidated EMS billing services to create a more efficient department.
Decreased Debt: Ed decreased the city debt and in 2010 had the lowest overall debt level in 10 years.
Reduced Labor Cost: Ed sat down with public employee unions and crafted fair and responsible labor concession agreements with two of our largest unions (SEIU and Police) and through some tough negotiations, put the city on a more sound fiscal footing saving more than $15 million dollars for the tax payer over the next five years.
Economic Development
Increased Investment: Ed brought over a half-billion dollars in new investment and hundreds of new jobs to the city since assuming office in 2006.
Attracted Development: Ed helped spearhead efforts to bring the Iron Pigs to Allentown and build Coca-Cola Park, the new PPL Building, the Butz Building, several new restaurants and a new arena to house the Philadelphia Phantoms to open in 2013.
Redeveloped Abandoned Properties: Ed led the transformation of the former Exide Battery plant from an EPA brownfield into a $22 million investment by Bennett Toyota. Forced the sale of blighted downtown buildings, such as Sal’s Spaghetti House, the Colonial Theater and the Americus Centre hotel, for redevelopment.
Parks and Recreation Improvement
Revitalizing Parks: Ed is working to refurbish the city’s parks system, including creating a playground at Cedar Beach that will be one of the first handicapped-accessible playgrounds in the Northeast. Ed also plans to rebuild Keck Park and implement other improvements to the parks system.
Improved Inner City Recreation: Ed helped provide new playgrounds at Central Elementary and McKinley schools.
Preserving South Mountain: Ed plans to conserve the South Mountain Reserve, assuring this urban forest remains a healthy and vital asset to Allentown.
Community Development
Re-Created Communities: Ed organized the redevelopment of the crime-ridden Hanover Acres Housing Development into a new mixed-income community called Overlook Park.
De-Converted Blighted Properties:
Ed initiated the Old Allentown Neighborhood Redevelopment Project to purchase blighted multi-unit properties and convert them into single-family homes. The project also includes building new homes downtown.
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