Ep 23: REI MBA - Sal Panto, Jr: Mayor for the City of Easton, PA - Navigating COVID & the RE Market

In this episode, Mayor Sal Panto (Mayor for the City of Easton, PA) joins us for an interview where he shares how he is helping Easton navigate the challenges of COVID, and discusses the transformation that the City of Easton is experiencing with all of its recent real estate development.

This is a must listen to episode where Mayor Panto provides the listeners with some of the specifics of what it took to help attract interest and outside capital from developers in transforming the downtown district. If you haven't been to Easton lately, you need to visit! Mayor Panto also discusses all the challenges that COVID has brought upon his city (residents and local businesses), and how they are navigating these times in order to come out on top.

Mayor Panto is beginning his 4th consecutive term in office after winning the November 2019 election with over 80% of the votes. He is recognized as a highly effective governmental leader and is credited with making Easton a cleaner and safer city in both its neighborhoods and its historic downtown.

Mayor Panto is credited with bringing fiscal stability to the city. In 2008 the city was on the verge of filing for Act 47 and had already entered into the Early Intervention Plan. But at a time when the nation was experiencing the worst recession since the Great Depression, Mayor Panto and his team have had 12 straight years with no increase in real estate taxes and a year-end surplus all eleven years. His financial management has earned the city an increase in its Standard and Poor’s rating.

Mayor Panto is leading an economic development program that is experiencing almost $1 billion in public and private investment and the creation of hundreds of new jobs in the city. The Mayor is most proud of the “Green Housing Rehabilitation Program” he started in the neighborhoods and the many successful small businesses openings in the neighborhoods and downtown.