County and government employees recognized
Brief SEDA COG update
Trending
BELLEFONTE -- The Centre County Board of Commissioners have declared April as National County Government and Centre County Employee Appreciation Month in Centre County.
"From the commissioners and administrators viewpoint, county staff does amazing work. We do it with fewer people than most other counties of our size," said Chairman Mark Higgins.
Higgins also pointed out that the county's Children and Youth Department is used statewide as an example of how to run a quality Children and Youth Program.
"We have almost 600 employees and every one of them does a piece of the work that we rely on here in Centre County. A lot of that work is not seen or recognized by a lot of our residents and citizens. Ultimately what we have here is an amazing team of 35 departments that all work together to make a lot of good things happen," said Commissioner Steven Dershem.
Among other departments specifically pointed out, mentioned the Planning Department, Finance Department, Maintenance, 911 and the Sheriff's department as well as countless others that work hard year-round.
"Our Correctional Facility -- working together with commissioners, judges, the DA, all the other stakeholders involved -- we've reduced the number of incarcerated individuals from Centre County at that facility by about 50% over the last nine years. No other county can say that," said Higgins.
"Some of these jobs are really intense emotional jobs, working with families and kids in need. That kind of work takes a toll. We see the work you're doing, and we know how important it is and how vital it is to our community," said Commissioner Amber Concepcion.
John Franek, County Administrator, added, "I'm truly impressed and honored to be a part of such an incredible team."
In other news:
-- Mitzi Gallagher-Long, Project Coordinator for the department of Community Development with SEDA COG, was in attendance during the meeting to announce the kick off of the 2023 Community Development Block Grant Program application. The letter is scheduled to be sent out to municipalities, authorities and non profits in the county on April 21. The actual allocations have not been released at this time. CDBG funding is used for low-moderate income residents of the county based on census data and income surveys.