Dec 15th - After the Dec 10 budget workshop I wrote the below
letter to the editor . It was an unreal process to be at this
so-called "budget workshop". In an over 30 million dollar
budget the township manager & Commissioners couldn't seem
to find anything significant thing to recommend to
cut ...... while all year long allowing $20,000 for
microphone upgrades, and $20,000 for "advertising"
for the township ( with what return) - while approving
skateparks and dog parks and art center extras . With over
$300,000 of my state & local tax dollars, a $450,000
soccer clubhouse has been submitted for approval . This while
a church was under fire for aiding the homeless without
the right permits. Fees on residents are raised for use of
the pools ( to earn an additional $16,000?) while well
over 100,000 is being spent on false alarm calls that are not
reimbursed by the people making the error. We spent state
or county and local tax money at astounding rates on
Open Space and other issues, while now we are suggesting that
our Police Officers perhaps should forego important training to
balance the budget and while capital improvements. In my
opinion, and the opinion of others, our budget process is
clearly broken. We have no way to view all of our expenses and
prioritize. My hope lies in the fact that one Commissioner
has noted this openly and has recommended reviewing the process
with an eye toward developing priorities. We can
hope, can't we?
Here is the letter I submitted today:
To the Editor
Merry Christmas Abington! Or could this be Whoville.....where
things of value disappear quietly at the holiday season while
others are sleeping - or distracted with joyful holiday thoughts
? There is little more that would tell the story better than to
just watch the events unfold before your eyes. I urge Abington
residents to turn on Channel 43 ( at 9am, 3pm or 9pm ) and to
watch the buget process themselves. This is why we worked so
hard to get meetings televised, because you have to see this to
believe it.
With a 30-40 million dollar budget and more "pet projects"
than you might imagine in your wildest dreams, the Commissioners
asked their township manager to come to the table with more
realistic budget cuts than he had been offering . In past
meetings, our manager put certain items on the "cut
consideration list"- complete with power point presentation -
gave lengthy explanations of what could be saved if we cut
there, then announced we weren't allowed by law to do so. Huh?
How many professional hours did he waste doing that?
But that technique has reached new heights. In the Dec 10
Budget Workshop our manager conferred with the police dept &
they took an Abington "hotpoint" - traffic safety - proposing
that we cut officers who write speeding citations. Residents
have been asking for MORE police presence & oversight in this
area .. huh? And what would we save ? ---- $20,000. However, one
catch - we would lose the $27,000 that we take in from the
citations. That's a budget cut? Huh? That is just ONE example of
the absurdities that abounded at that meeting. Funny how they
just kept turning down all the manager's proposals to make cuts.
I think we need a math tutor. (Or maybe just some new
leadership). I thanked the Commissioners who did speak up for a
better process and those who pointed out this disingenuous
process. Commissioner Wachter thinks the process is not broken
because - hey - he's got 10 million of your dollars in reserve.
I might add, to spend however he & his colleagues choose. Watch
for yourselves and you will see. Commissioner Myers thinks we
have ample communication and cutting out the newsletter would be
helpful . I can tell her 100 places to cut - but communication
back to the residents in this township is not one of them.
_____________________________
11-08 The 2009 Budget is
underway
1st Budget Workshop October 23,
2008
Budget Workshop October 30, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Preliminary Budget Meeting November 13, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Budget Workshop (optional) November 20, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Final Adoption Hearing December 18, 2008 at 8:00 pm
The meetings are being
recorded and televised on Township Channel 43 but will not air
until the subsequent week ( 9:00 am, 3:00 pm, and 9:00 pm)
If you would like to have input,
it is best to attend the meetings. You may also call your
Commissioner to register your thoughts.
As I understand it, there is a
deficit thus far in the process - the budget is not
balanced and the Commissioners will need to consider either
trimming projects and programs or adding revenue .
For many many years the Commissioners have not raised your
property taxes - technically - but in the course of
"balancing the budget" some services that used to be included in
taxes are instead covered now by fees or were dropped and
additional taxes were added, like the LST tax last year.
It was discussed in this budget process, for instance, that leaf
removal might be considered separately - a salaried
full time position in the code enforcement and zoning department
may be deleted in favor a part time position or third party
coverage ( fees again ) rather than possibly keeping the
salaried position to alleviate the congestion in the overall
code enforcement and zoning department . Some have
suggested seeking new ways of "gaining revenue" while
others have asked if staff cuts might be appropriate to
review . So there is much that residents should be aware of as
this budget process continues. Adding additional revenue
making items that might impact households that are
less affluent should be a carefully considered step - and we
might all seek to understand the addition of new fees and
taxes while a 5-6 million dollar surplus exists that most
residents are unaware of . Residents are encouraged to
attend these meetings with some prior information and it would
seem that engaging civic groups in the process might improve
understanding. In the past, we have asked for a regular citizens
forum where issues like this can be discussed by those
interested. We have not yet met with a positive response.
At the open township meetings, only a very limited time for
questions is allotted and answers are not guaranteed.
The following information is
compiled from information received from Commissioners Kline &
Peacock as well as from viewing one of the Budget workshop
meetings on channel 43 . It is possible that some has been
misunderstood by the editor of this page - please check all
figures & info with your Township or Commissioners before
relying on them . Let us know if you see any errors we should
correct and please note that this update is as of
the info from the October 23rd, 2008 workshop .....
_________
The initial 2009
budget distributed to the Board of Commissioners shows a $1.3
million budget deficit.
Services from the township are paid in four separate taxes/fees.
1) Fire Department Service tax 2) Refuse fee (for trash
and recycling pick-ups) 3) Sewer tax and 4) Township
property tax
Budgeting notes :
General Fund $33,301,739
This is the budget
for the all township services excluding refuse, sewer and fire
services
Initial
projected deficit $800,000 -- Without further cuts
in the General Fund budget, an 8% increase in the property
tax might be anticipated ($37 per year for a
property assessed at $150,000, which is the Township average).
The primary sources of revenue for the General Fund are various
taxes and fees, including, but not limited to: property tax,
business tax, local service tax, earned income tax, deed
transfer tax, fire tax.
The main reasons for the General Fund deficit include:
Flat property tax revenues;
Business tax revenues decline of 2%- due to economic
downturn ;
Local service tax revenues: a decline of 22% -
enacted during
last year’s budget to help balance it- The tax office
and finance office are working on methods to streamline the
collection of this revenue, which they believe to be a large
part of the reduced revenue;
Earned Income Tax:
The revenue for this tax is projected to see a small reduction
due to the economic down turn (approx $20,000 or about 1/3% of
the fund amount ).
Deed transfer tax revenues decline of 21%
Big ticket items - increased costs anticipated for items
like such as salaries, medical insurance, and pension plans (
some, like gasoline might see a decrease)
The additional
expenditures for these four items may be as much as $1.45 mil.
Fire Dept Tax -
Assuming no further cuts in the Fire Department budget, the fire
tax (currently $79 per year) would increase by $7 per year. (
$14 increase accidentally noted earlier- there is an
added advertising /marketing campaign of approx $50,000 that the Fire Dept sought to have
approved at the recent Board meeting- so not sure if that is
calculated here or not)
.
Refuse Fund $ 5,633,355
-sustained directly by fees levied for the services provided
For the largest trash container, represents a 4% decrease in the
fee over 2007.
Residents who choose a smaller container can realize even larger
savings.
Sewer Fund $ 8,818,217 - sustained directly by fees
levied for the services provided.
There
has been a 22.5% increase in charges by the City of Philadelphia
for
treatment of wastewater from eastern Abington Township, and a
52% increase
in the
cost of chemical supplies used for treatment at our own plant.
Assuming no cuts in the proposed sewer budget, we anticipate a
$14 increase
in the
sewer fee for 2009.
Capital Expenditures -
Over $4 million in capital projects has been proposed, including
storm sewers, creek bank stabilization, vehicle replacement, and
facilities maintenance. The budget allocates $1.5 million in
capital expenditures, so a list of priorities will need to be
made and presented for approval to the Board of Commissioners.
The Board will discuss these priorities with Township staff at
the next Budget Workshop
Surplus - Fund Balance - Somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-6
million was held last year - not sure exact amount held currently ...
assume near that figure .....?
