o'! budget The Post NEWS Sunday, November 2, 2003 3 (continued from page 1) an invitation he made at the hearing for suggestions from the public. “Believe me, I'm not proud,” he said. “I welcome any input from citizens.” Already axed from the pre- liminary figures are the entire recreation department, crossing guards, the spring cleanup and any contribution to the Back Mountain Memorial Library. Driving a 3.2 percent in- crease in anticipated general fund expenditures are salary hikes and insurance costs. The police contract calls for 4.75 percent raises this year, and other personnel were slated for 3.5 percent. On the other side of the ledger, general fund revenues are projected to increase only 1 percent. The township, one of the fastest-growing in the region, has been hit hard by the slug- @. economy, its revenue de- ressed by weaker than expect- ed income tax collections and interest payments. The effect of the economy is evident in projections for zon- ing fees and other services as- sociated with home construc- tion. Engineering fees, budget- ed at $15,000 in 2003, are run- ning at less than $5,000 this year. The tentative budget for 2004 is $7,500. “l warned all year long we were going to have trouble with our budget,” said Supervisor Chris Yankovich. “Now we have serious problems .. and we're taking away services from peo- ple in the township.” Yankovich said the Green Road paving project, which is costing $50,000 a year for seven years, was an unnecessary strain, and future costs to re- pair the Center Street bridge would only add to the budget crunch. In 2004, the township is com- @.. to replacing the dilapi- la . state of affairs ated bridge, at a cost of $100,000. At the October 28 budget hearing, several residents called for the supervisors to give up their township-paid health care insurance to help close the $400,000 gap. Kingston Township pays the entire premium for all partici- FOR THE POST/DON CAREY Dan Tuck was one of several township residents who chastised the supervisors during Tues- day's budget hearing. pants. “We already took a cut in our health care,” said Paul Sabol, Chairman of the Supervisors, to which Jeff Doggett of Ivy Drive responded, “How about to 0?” Supervisors Neil Allen and Yankovich do not participate in the township's health care plan, while Supervisor John Versari acknowledged that both he and his wife are covered by it. Sabol cited a 30-year career as a police officer and chief, saying, “I think I earned it.” Sabol and his wife are covered under the plan. Carl Goodwin takes individ- ual coverage. The total expense to the township for supervisors’ insur- ance in 2004 would be $21,445 if coverages remained the same. That does not include dental and vision plans, which all su- pervisors take, at a cost of less than $3,000 a year. The 2004 Kingston Township budget will get a preliminary reading at the November 12 Public has a lot to say at hearing When Benjamin Jones III, Solicitor to the Board of Supervisors opened the October 28 budget hearing to public com- ment, residents trooped up to the microphone to offer lots of criticism, a dash of praise and their help, even to the point of a willingness to pay more for services. Several residents ex- pressed dismay at the in the township and attacks on former township Manager Jeffrey Box. Box resigned the position in October 2001. “This whole situation is becoming a disgrace,” said Dan Tuck, Midway Manor. “I would just like to see the po- litical barbs come to an end.” After complimenting Super- visor Chairman Paul Sabol for his many years of service to the community, Tuck suggested it may be time for Sabol to step aside. Kathryn Butruce and others pleaded to save the summer recreation program. “That pro- gram is for all of our children, and that is our future,” she S : Ben Jones II, solicitor to the board, announced Tuesday that no lawsuit will be filed against former township Manager Jeffrey Box. A motion to do so had been made and seconded at Monday's meeting. said. Township Manager Eddie O’Neill said the program costs about $20,000 a year and that only an average of 40-45 of the 130 children who sign up for it attend any given day. Butruce offered that parents might be willing to pay more than the nominal fees now in place if they were asked to do SO. Dave Broadhead, Midway Manor, had a similar take on the spring cleanup. Sabol said the supervisors hadn’t consid- ered charging for the annual service as a way to preserve it. Rosario Shaver, who led a petition drive against a pro- posed ban on burning, made her pitch for allowing con- trolled burning. Shaver al- leged that the supervisors acknowledge only one side of the issue and have held off a decision until after the November 4 election. Sean McAndrew, a mem- ber of the planning commis- sion also weighed in on the burning ban. McAndrew de- nied that the idea originated with the planning commis- sion and said the supervi- sors asked commission members to review a ban. Atty. Donald Brobst, who lives in the township and also was at the meeting to represent Box, said the factors that drew him to the township 12 years ago seemed to be in decline. “I' thought Kingston Town- ship had the best local govern- ment I had seen in Luzerne County,” Brobst said. But he now observes “political infight- ing that can only lead to a de- generation in the quality of gov- ernment.” meeting of Supervisors, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in the mu- nicipal building. Changes can be made until fi- nal adoption, which is likely to take place at the December 10 meeting. po What’s up A and down V in the 2004 Kingston Township preliminary budget Here's a summary of some items making significant moves. REVENUES ‘03 Budget ‘03 YTD ‘04 Budget Interest and Earnings $12,000 / $3,751 $5,000 A Pension State Aid 28,000 = 34,126 38,000 A Foreign Fire Ins. Tax 36,000 43,449 45,000 V¥ Engineer Fees 15,000 4,793 7,500 A Total General Fund $1,910,627 $1,527,143 $1,929,738 V Total Capital Fund 105,000 2,120 93,000 EXPENDITURES ‘03 Budget ‘03 YTD ‘04 Budget A Police Salaries 383,871 308,286 417,634 A Road Staff Salaries 289,328 228,021 301,446 A Debt Principal 134,068, 160,000 205,000 V Debt Interest 114,288 | 78,760 87,617 A Hospitalization Ins. 210,000 | 154,130 225,000 V Engineer Salary $32,000 | $12,906 $25,000 A Natural Gas 19,800 | 21,189 25,500 A Contributions \ to Fire & Ambulance* 48,000 | 53,449 57,000 ¥ Spring Cleanup 11,050 | 10,470 -0- V Recreation 24,345 23,391 -0- V Library 4,500 \ -0- -0- A Worker's Comp 58,000 71,427 75,000 A Total General Fund 2,070,326 1174 3,081 2,138,353 A Capifal Construction 90,000 -0- 190,000 A Capital Purchases -0- +0- 40,000 A Total Capital Fund 167,000 = 29,729 301,100 *Mostly paid from Foreign Fire Ins. Tax Money lost, and found at tax agencies At one point in Tuesday’s hearing, Supervisors Chairman Paul Sabol blamed some of the budget woes on an overpayment of tax receipts the township received in 2001, while Jeffrey Box was still manager. “We had no idea that wasn’t our money,” he said. “We “were put in a bind.” Current Manager Edmund O’Neill said that money was sent to the township improperly by the Don Wilkinson Agency. About $90,000 of it was received in May through July, 2001 and the rest in December, 2001, but the township wasn’t made aware of the er- ror until late 2002, a year after Box had left. The township still owes about $93,000 of that to the tax agency. Also in late 2002, the township hired an auditor who found $103,000 in taxes that were due but were never forwarded, offset- ting most of the earlier phantom payments. This year the auditor found another $98,000 in payments on the earned income tax that hadn’t been paid to the township yet, O’Neill said. Playing it safe, O’Neill is including only an additional $75,000 in revenue from that figure. NS ON YOUR STREE p31 vo 23 SAR AVERSA FAG Ar 54 3 . WIR Ak or lost)? 1 DO! 3g ing [TRY {I Exclusive To Area - BERGER Also in stock ... Parfums de Maison in a variety of fragrances WLAN LLYN Pharmacy & Gift, Inc. 825-4566 [RII 0 D6 (115 BN 998 5 P11) 3 (010) CH Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Mechanical Engineering Degree- Georgia Institute of Technology Youth Soccer Coach Member US NAVY Reserves On November 4th, I'd very much appreciate (ol 1- He) BR" el UI EMV oe) (=F {o] gh: Tela lo To] H BII {Tol (os or | believe that we have the resources (in our students, teacher parents and community) to rise from among the best in the area to among the best in the state and the nation. To strive for anything less is unacceptable to me. | believe that we can accomplish this with new and committed leadership- leadership | am ready to provide! My guiding principles: EP aaivalgleRelelolelg 0a [ER 01g | § BES ($e [Ta1 + Maintaining a modern, challenging and exciting curriculum. 8 Se lilje-1el [SRULT-Hel @-Teialelel B -Tell [1 [=H «Allowing teachers the freedom to do the best job possible + Fiscal Conservatism
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