Radio Smart Talk: York Mayor Kim Bracey

Radio Smart Talk for Thursday, February 7:

The city of York is known as the White Rose City. York has a place in American history as the nation’s first capital and where the name “United States of America” was first used. In 1950, York had almost 60,000 residents. Today, the population is closer to 44,000. Like many other American cities, York lost people to the suburbs as manufacturing jobs moved or were eliminated.

Also like other cities, York has its share of challenges and a lot of them are related to money and the city’s limited options to generate revenue.

While York struggles with finances, so far it has avoided being designated as distressed like 21 other Pennsylvania cities.

York Mayor Kim Bracey often says “Pennsylvania’s local tax, pension, and arbitration systems as well as urban boundaries are outdated, broken, and unfair.” She is one of almost every big city mayor in the state that has called on the legislature to change laws to provide options to cities.

Like other cities, York is sometimes perceived as having a crime problem. A recent report ranked York 18th in the country in crime per capita — something the city disputes, saying the methodology was flawed and that York actually has its lowest crime rate in seven years.

The city’s schools have also been graded poorly.

Mayor Bracey will appear on Thursday’s program to discuss how she has tackled these issues and others.

Listen to the program: {mp3remote}http://witf.vo.llnwd.net/o35/smarttalk/radiosmarttalk/RST_February072013.mp3{/mp3remote}