A resident of Stewartstown for 50 years, Wilberetta
Gibbs has been a member of the Stewartstown Borough Council since 1990 and President of
the Council since 1992. At the time of her retirement from the private sector, Gibbs, the
happily married mother of three and grandmother of four, was a department manager at
McCrory's corporate headquarters in York.
The Borough Council oversees the Personnel,
Police/Public Safety/Emergency Management, Sewer & Water, Special Action/Newsletter,
Public Property/Refuse/ Street Lights, and Streets/Roads/Storm Water Committees.
Each of the seven Council members, excluding the President, chairs one of the six
committees and serves on two others. The Council President attends many of the committee
meetings as an ex-officio member. Gibbs sees the work of the Council committees as
"ironing out the wrinkles." That is, if the details of programs and issues can
be resolved at the committee level, it makes for a smoother, more efficiently run Council
meeting.
The Borough Council appoints members to the Sewer
and Water Authority, though the Authority has its own solicitor and operates
independently. The Zoning Hearing Board also has their own solicitor and operates as an
independent arm of Borough government as well.
When she's not chairing or attending a meeting,
Council President Gibbs is guiding the work of the Borough's full-time paid staff or
attending government related seminars and conferences on topics such as Y2K. When she's
not busy with Borough activities, Gibbs enjoys counted cross-stitch, crocheting, or
reading. She also enjoys helping to keep the Stewartstown United Methodist Church library
in order.
Lately, Borough Council members have been focused on
issues related to the impending move to new offices. Once the move has occurred and the
staff has had a little time to "settle in," the Council will likely host an open
house. The Borough has also been working cooperatively with Hopewell Township to provide
daytime EMT coverage. Gibbs says that she expects the Council to be devoting a lot of
their time in the coming months to updating the Borough Comprehensive Plan.
The Council President is justifiably proud of the
tireless efforts of all the members of the Council, as well as the hardworking members of
the full-time staff. Though she sometimes feels a little frustrated by the slow moving
wheels of government, Gibbs feels that the Borough is quite responsive to the needs of its
citizens. She says, "though the citizens may not always be thrilled with the answers
they get; if we promise to respond, we will respond."
Wilberetta
Gibbs