Julien Godbarge

---

Not cutting through residential areas and other roadways where they do not belong.

Upper Macungie Township should  lead the way in deploying technology to supplement our current enforcement methods. 

As I’ve been knocking on doors and engaging with constituents, I’ve noticed a recurring theme: many residents feel disconnected from what the township is doing. Too often, they don’t know—or don’t feel invested in—our strategic direction. Some blame township staff, others blame past and present supervisors.

I’m not one to play the blame game. I prefer to take a problem-solving approach. What I see is a process gap that we can bridge to create stronger community engagement and ensure township initiatives better reflect the needs and priorities of our residents.

That’s why I’m proposing the Upper Macungie Neighborhood Engagement Plan (UMNEP). If elected, I will work to put this plan into action. 

Like most municipalities, Upper Macungie follows a standard, recognized planning model:

1. Township staff, supported by consultants as needed, develop a proposed plan.

2. The draft is published and presented to the community.

3. A public comment period follows.

4. The draft is revised (or not) based on feedback.

5. Supervisors vote on whether to approve the plan.

This approach has strengths: it leverages subject-matter expertise and creates a forum for public input. But it also has a critical weakness—public participation is often low. Why? Because high-level plans don’t always resonate with people whose concerns are highly local—specific to their street, neighborhood, or daily experiences.

UMNEP would complement the existing top-down model with a bottom-up process designed to:

· Build stronger relationships between residents, staff, and supervisors.

· Create a structured channel for neighborhood-level concerns to be heard and incorporated.

· Enrich township decision-making with a deeper understanding of the community’s lived experiences.

The result: better plans that reflect the township as a whole—not just the loudest voices or the broadest strokes.

In 2018, while doing pro-bono consulting in Lancaster City, I saw firsthand how Mayor Sorace’s administration launched a similar initiative. Over time, that program has grown, received national recognition, and ensured fair representation across the city’s diverse neighborhoods. 

We can achieve the same in Upper Macungie—by starting small, piloting neighborhood engagement in a few areas, and building it into a township-wide practice.

One of the valuable long-term benefits of this initiative is leadership development. By engaging residents directly in township discussions, UNEP would cultivate a pipeline of informed, capable citizens who understand how local government works and are motivated to serve.

That experience would prepare future candidates to run for township office—ensuring a stronger, more diverse group of leaders in the years to come. This is especially important as we consider moving from three elected supervisors to five, a change that could serve our community well if implemented thoughtfully.

Launching UMNEP now would give us time to grow the civic engagement and leadership base we need to make that transition successfully—ensuring that when the time comes, we’ll have qualified, community-minded candidates ready to lead.