League of Women Voters of Chester County, Pennsylvania
Chester County, PA November 5, 2013 Election
	John R. Embick Answers Questions Candidate for Township Supervisor; Township of Westtown

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Chester County and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. As the demographics change in your township, how do you plan to provide for basic services?

Now that the results of the 2010 Census are available, we have some indication of various trends which have occurred in the last ten years. For example, the population of Westtown Township has increased from 10,352 to 10,827 persons, an increase of about 4.5 %. Significant increases in Black/African American and Asian populations were recorded. Also, an increase in the number of households was discovered, from 3,705 to 3,898, which represents a change of about 5.5 %. As expected, the percentage of our population over 65 years increased from 9.9% to 13.0 %. It seems clear that we are experiencing an aging of our population and an increase in population diversity. Doubtless, other trends are revealed in the data.

Planning for demographic change is more complex than merely tracking changes in the data and projecting trends forward. Smart planning must analyze current trends (i.e., more data gathering), and involves the critical step of thoughtful development of future estimates. Awareness of this information and the likely impacts on local government is an essential input for good decision-making.

A challenge for Westtown Township is to calculate how much of the future demographic change is "set" or predetermined, as opposed to how much is unknown and largely unpredictable. Our community must determine what changes can be influenced by the exercise of authority available to municipalities under Commonwealth law. We must establish clear policies, and plan accordingly. We can only plan for what we can control.

Smart planning takes resources. The township would need to engage the services of various consultants, including planners and other specialists, to advise its citizen leaders and planners. We would need to encourage substantial citizen involvement in the process.

However, we are living in an era of significant fiscal constraints, so it is not clear what level of effort can or should be implemented. Accordingly, we would need to consider creative utilization of local or regional resources (e.g., West Chester University, and regional planning agencies, etc.). We would need to explore and forge partnerships with neighboring municipalities in order to achieve effective solutions and cost savings or sharing.

It is clear that we need efficient and quality outcomes in local planning and demographic forecasting.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: July 8, 2013 12:09
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