Sunday, June 6, 2010 THE DALLAS POST PAGE 3 LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICT ~ Board approves I+ percent increase in taxes The budget will be voted on for a second time at the next board meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. on June 28 in the junior/senior high school auditorium. It must be approved by June 30. By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com The Lake-Lehman School Board has approved, by a 6-2 vote, a tax increase of almost 11.39 percent for 2010-11. The proposed final budget for 2010-11 calls for total expendi- tures of $26,694,082 and total revenues of $25,788,778. The tax rate will rise from 7.8011 to 8.6894 mills in Luzerne County and from 55.6534 to 58.3524 mills in Wyoming Coun- ty. A mill is a $1 tax for every $1,000 in property value. Pennsylvania Act I, known as the “Taxpayer Relief Act,” re- quires school districts to limit tax increases to the level set by an in- flation index unless they obtain an exception or the increase is ap- proved by voter referendum. Thomas Melone, of Albert Melone and Company, which serves as the Lake-Lehman School District’s business man- ager, said the rise in taxes means an increase of $127.75 in property taxes for the average property as- sessed at $143,702 in Luzerne County. In Wyoming County, there will be an increase of $33.75 for the average property. The tax increase raises the in- dex rate to 11.1 percent, three times above the district’s index rate of 3.7 percent set for the 2010-11 year by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The board was required to adopt a preliminary budget in February because members did not agree to limit themselves to the 3.7 percent index rate. In or- der for the board to raise the tax rate above 3.7 percent, an excep- tion had to be approved either by the state or by voter referendum. Melone said Lake-Lehman ap- plied for $1.2 million in excep- tions under special education, tax and state funding mainte- nance and Public School Employ- ees’ Retirement System (PSERS) increases. The district was awarded all $1.2 million in excep- tions from the state, he said. Board President Moderno Ros- si and board treasurer Mark Kor- noski voted against the measure. Board first vicepresident Peter Farrell was absent. Kornoski said it was “a hard pill to swallow” to vote for the budget. Rossi said he did not vote for the budget because there were no cuts in it. He said he would sup- port eliminating four elementary teacher positions from which teachers are retiring this year. Superintendent James McGovern said eliminating the positions would result in approxi- mately $280,000 in savings. McGovern also said he expects to see personnel cuts in the final budget. McGovern said the proposed final budget will be on display for 30 days, available for public in- spection for 20 days and adver- tised in the newspaper for 10 days prior to the next meeting. The budget will be voted on for See TAXES, Page 13 Painted to look like Spider Man, Connor Spencer, of Hunlock Creek, gets into the role of the super hero. CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Makenci Walsh and Emily Babcock, both of Sweet Val Fd gr 4 pI / / —— £ ABOVE: Chelsea Smith, left, of Huntington Mills, and Rachel Whitesell, of Hunlock Creek, chow down on funnel cake. AT RIGHT: All eyes are on Stephanie Chaga, of Lehman, as she hurls herself into the air. ley, fly through the air on the swings. A far time In Sweet Valley The 50th anniversary of the Sweet Valley Fair was a huge success as Mother Nature provid- ed summer-like temper- atures for fair-goers to enjoy. The Sweet Valley Volunteer fire Company hosts the Memorial Day Weekend Fair and Pa- rade to raise money for its yearly operating ex- penses. DALLAS TOWNSHIP Supervisors approve developer's credit Supervisors approved on June 1 to accept a new letter of credit for Dorchester Land Development, LLC and to re- lease its old letter of credit. The new letter of credit is for $858,689 received from First National Community Bank. The old credit to be re- leased by M&T Bank is in the amount of $172,104.40. The letter of credit is to sat- ~ isfy part of Section 103.4 in the township's subdivision and land development ordi- nance. The section states that “no lot in a proposed subdivi- sion or land development may be sold and no zoning and/or building permit to erect any building, structure or other improvements upon land in a subdivision or land develop- ment may be issued unless and until each of the follow- ing conditions are met: the plans and application have been granted final approval by the township Planning Com- mission; all required condi- tions and/or improvements as set forth in the grant of ap- proval have been met and re- quired improvements have been constructed or until the applicant has posted a form of financial security, acceptable to the Planning Commission, which guarantees that all re- quired improvements shall be subsequently constructed within a defined period of time; and the final plan, as approved, is filed and recorded with the Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds.” Dorchester Land Develop- ment, LLC, is the owner of the site of the new Dallas Geisinger Clinic being built on Dorchester Drive in the area of the former Sacred Heart Park. The new clin- ic will replace the clinic current- ly in the Dallas Shopping Center and will offer more specialty ser- vices. Groundbreaking for the new facility is scheduled for June 10. Bids to be opened at next meeting Bids for the paving project on Main and Campground roads will be opened at the next super- visors meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15. Vice chairman of supervisors Frank Wagner previously said the project will consist of paving Main Road from the Kingston Township line to Route 309, as well as all of Campground Road. Contract documents, includ-. ing plans and specifications, may be obtained at the township of- fice. Sealed proposals for the project will be received until 4 p.m. on June 15. - Rebecca Bria 5 L First Lieutenant William J. Dunn Jr., of Shavertown, left, was recently promoted to the rank of Captain in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Dunn promoted to captain First Lieutenant William J. Dunn Jr., of Shavertown was promoted to the rank of Cap- tain in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard during a cere- mony held May 15. During the ceremony, Cap- tain Dunn was also the recip- ient of the Army Commenda- tion Medal and the Pennsylva- nia Commendation Medal for his service in the 28th Infan- try Division’s, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate. The Army Commendation Medal was awarded for Dunn’s distinguished service while assigned as Intelligence Law Officer and Defense Counsel for the 28th Infantry Division. As a defense coun- sel, Dunn successfully litigated numerous administrative separa- tion proceedings and provided legal assistance to Soldiers. In September, 2009, Dunn was ordered to active duty service in support of the Joint Task Force, G-20 Summit, held in Pitts burgh, PA. For his exemplary service as a legal officer during this National Security Special Event, Dunn was awarded the Pennsylvania Commendation Medal. Captain Dunn is currently as- signed as Trial Counsel to the 55th Brigade Combat Team in Scranton. In his civilian capacity, he serves as an assistant district attorney in the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office.
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