RESOLUTION

of the
LEHIGH COUNTY CONGRESS of GOVERNMENTS

WHEREAS The Lehigh County Congress of Governments (COG) is comprised of the

elected and appointed leaders of the 25 municipalities in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
and is in its third year of operation; and

WHEREAS The members of the Lehigh County Congress share the concerns of the
incoming Administration and Congress of the United States regarding the current high
unemployment in our County, State, and Nation; and

WHEREAS Our members understand that a Job Creation/ Economic Stimulus plan is
being considered which could have a component involving direct grants to state and local
governments for job creation; and

WHEREAS Local governments have been successful in the past in quickly creating jobs
which meet community needs for both facilities and services.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that:

1. The members of the COG urge Congress and the Administration to ensure that
any funds intended for the use of local governments be directly appropriated to
local governments without any pass through or controls by the various State
governments.
2. Local projects should be connected to priorities of the local communities, focus
on quick and effective creation of jobs and be evaluated regionally through a
process which will compare local needs and priorities with those of the region.
The Lehigh County COG will assess our communities recommended projects and
programs compared with needs of the County expressed in our County
Comprehensive Plan.
3. A model for the program could be a combination of the features of the Federal
Revenue Sharing and the Community Development Block Grant programs.
4. The program must include streamlined processes for all required reviews required
by Federal law (e.g. – environmental; historical) if the funds are to truly be used
for job creation in the short term.
5. A percentage of the funds should be available for planning longer term job
creation efforts.
6. Copies of this Resolution be sent to Congressman Charles Dent, Pennsylvania
Senators Spector and Casey; leadership of the House and Senate, and the
President and Vice President.

Approved by the Congress of Governments this _____ day of ______________ 2009.

Submitted by: Don Cunningham,

County Executive, Lehigh County
 Chair, Lehigh County Congress of
Governments