Reprint from delcotimes.com
Published: Monday, December 20, 2010
NETHER PROVIDENCE — It took nearly three hours, but some final line item-by-line item budgetary pruning by the Board of Commissioners was enough to drive the township tax increase for 2011 just south of 5 percent.
The board took a last stab at reducing the spending outline during a special meeting on Dec. 15 devoid of members of the public. In the end, the vote was 7-0 in favor of a fiscal plan that will boost taxes by 4.97 percent, to 4.09 mills.
Commissioner Michael Dougherty, who chairs the Finance and Administration Committee, said the
The board took a last stab at reducing the spending outline during a special meeting on Dec. 15 devoid of members of the public. In the end, the vote was 7-0 in favor of a fiscal plan that will boost taxes by 4.97 percent, to 4.09 mills.
Commissioner Michael Dougherty, who chairs the Finance and Administration Committee, said the
change will translate into a $44 township tax hike for a property assessed at $200,000.
Calling it a “daunting process,” Dougherty said the board and municipal staff made concerted efforts to streamline costs wherever possible.
“I think we did a pretty good job,” especially in light of rising costs in such areas as health care and pensions, he said,
While Commissioner Matthew Sullivan did not oppose the budget in its ultimate form, he repeated concerns he raised throughout the budget-development process about the impact of a rise in taxes on residents facing a still battered economy.
“I still think this increase is too high,” he said, adding in his view it should be limited to about 4 percent.
In general, the budget deliberations were collegial, with the board’s four Republicans and three Democrats working cooperatively on crafting the plan. Two minor exceptions were the resumption of a township summer recreation program and the question of whether commissioners should sacrifice their salaries to help reduce costs.
Board members are paid $2,600 annually.
Sullivan tried to make the case that if all of the commissioners decided to forego their pay, a total of $18,200 could be saved and taxes cut could be further cut.
But board President Nate Much said he disagreed with such a move “wholeheartedly,” saying the compensation made sense given the time devoted to the job and made his time away from his family more palatable.
Commissioner Larry Baker pointed out that he donates part of his salary to the Garden City Fire Co., which uses some of that money to purchase candy canes distributed to township children via a Santa float that makes its way around the community during the holiday season.
Dougherty said it should be a personal decision whether to accept the salary and objected to Sullivan pressing the issue at the meeting.
“Matt, if you want to donate this money, fine,” he said. “If you want to give up your salary, do it. Putting all the commissioners on the spot is wrong.”
Sullivan subsequently apologized if the request made any of his colleagues feel uncomfortable. However, he and 2nd Ward Commissioner Bob Kenworthy later made it clear they would give up the salary to help pare the tax increase.
On the topic of the summer recreation program, which was axed several years ago as a cost-cutting measure, Sullivan recommended delaying its relaunch by a year or two to save money. The township tab for the program was put at $25,000 per year.
Baker, who complained about the program’s elimination prior to running for the board, urged its return and argued the move was important because the township is “sterile” in that it offers very little in the way of activities, such as parades or holiday celebrations, for residents.
“What we come back to is we offer nothing to the people of this township,” Baker said.
Dougherty also supported the recreation program, saying it provides a “good bang for the buck” and residents of his ward, the 1st, indicated they liked the program.
Offering a different opinion was Kenworthy, who said the township should not be adding positions – even part-time, temporary ones used by the program – when a decision was made earlier this year to shed a part-time secretarial position in the police department.
A poll of the board yielded the result that the Republican commissioners backed the program’s inclusion in the budget but the Democratic members did not. With a tally of 4 to 3 in favor, money for the program was kept intact.
One issue the board did not need to grapple with on Dec. 15 is the township’s annual sewer rate for 2011; it will remain unchanged, at $289 per household.
Township Manager Gary Cummings said the generally healthy state of Nether Providence’s sewer accounts made it possible to avoid a rate increase. That includes a healthy sewer reserve fund made more robust by the one-time payment of $206,000 from Upper Providence, Edgmont and Newtown for the right to join the Delaware County Authority.
Calling it a “daunting process,” Dougherty said the board and municipal staff made concerted efforts to streamline costs wherever possible.
“I think we did a pretty good job,” especially in light of rising costs in such areas as health care and pensions, he said,
While Commissioner Matthew Sullivan did not oppose the budget in its ultimate form, he repeated concerns he raised throughout the budget-development process about the impact of a rise in taxes on residents facing a still battered economy.
“I still think this increase is too high,” he said, adding in his view it should be limited to about 4 percent.
In general, the budget deliberations were collegial, with the board’s four Republicans and three Democrats working cooperatively on crafting the plan. Two minor exceptions were the resumption of a township summer recreation program and the question of whether commissioners should sacrifice their salaries to help reduce costs.
Board members are paid $2,600 annually.
Sullivan tried to make the case that if all of the commissioners decided to forego their pay, a total of $18,200 could be saved and taxes cut could be further cut.
But board President Nate Much said he disagreed with such a move “wholeheartedly,” saying the compensation made sense given the time devoted to the job and made his time away from his family more palatable.
Commissioner Larry Baker pointed out that he donates part of his salary to the Garden City Fire Co., which uses some of that money to purchase candy canes distributed to township children via a Santa float that makes its way around the community during the holiday season.
Dougherty said it should be a personal decision whether to accept the salary and objected to Sullivan pressing the issue at the meeting.
“Matt, if you want to donate this money, fine,” he said. “If you want to give up your salary, do it. Putting all the commissioners on the spot is wrong.”
Sullivan subsequently apologized if the request made any of his colleagues feel uncomfortable. However, he and 2nd Ward Commissioner Bob Kenworthy later made it clear they would give up the salary to help pare the tax increase.
On the topic of the summer recreation program, which was axed several years ago as a cost-cutting measure, Sullivan recommended delaying its relaunch by a year or two to save money. The township tab for the program was put at $25,000 per year.
Baker, who complained about the program’s elimination prior to running for the board, urged its return and argued the move was important because the township is “sterile” in that it offers very little in the way of activities, such as parades or holiday celebrations, for residents.
“What we come back to is we offer nothing to the people of this township,” Baker said.
Dougherty also supported the recreation program, saying it provides a “good bang for the buck” and residents of his ward, the 1st, indicated they liked the program.
Offering a different opinion was Kenworthy, who said the township should not be adding positions – even part-time, temporary ones used by the program – when a decision was made earlier this year to shed a part-time secretarial position in the police department.
A poll of the board yielded the result that the Republican commissioners backed the program’s inclusion in the budget but the Democratic members did not. With a tally of 4 to 3 in favor, money for the program was kept intact.
One issue the board did not need to grapple with on Dec. 15 is the township’s annual sewer rate for 2011; it will remain unchanged, at $289 per household.
Township Manager Gary Cummings said the generally healthy state of Nether Providence’s sewer accounts made it possible to avoid a rate increase. That includes a healthy sewer reserve fund made more robust by the one-time payment of $206,000 from Upper Providence, Edgmont and Newtown for the right to join the Delaware County Authority.
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