Your tax dollars and the 2019 township budget

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Last night (Monday night) was the 2nd budget workshop. The 2019 document proposes once again no tax increase (We have the lowest taxes of any suburban community in the Valley). It includes more money for preservation initiatives and continues to address our infrastructure.

You can view the 2019 proposed budget here. 

Two convo’s generated interesting discussion:

First, in reviewing the Sewer Budget we discussed at length the I&I (underground infrastructure repair) item. A complicated matter since it’s required by a federal mandate enacted a few years ago. A bit frustrating since Lower Mac has been ahead with our repairs to our system. Last year when faced with the unfunded mandate pushing us beyond a regular schedule of repairs we slightly raised the sewer rate. Now, since the mandate has changed (been a moving target) we discussed reducing the rate to correspond. Note that our sewer rate is already among the lowest. However, I believe that fees for specific services like sewers should correspond directly to expenditures. We raised it for a purpose and if the plan has changed we should adjust. Digging deeper before the next BOC meeting.

Next, we have a well thought out 5-year capital plan for parks. Last night, however, we removed an item to spend 60k on a park pavilion at the new Camp Olympic playground. The problem was the cost. Really it’s a large gazebo. No doubt very nice, but the price tag was shocking. The cost for local government to do relatively simple projects never ceases to amaze me. I could not see supporting it at the price presented. I’ve let the Parks Director know I’d consider supporting the project next year if the price is significantly reduced. This has to do with the state’s inability to address an antiquated prevailing wage law that hasn’t been updated in 40 years driving up the cost of park projects for local municipalities. Excessive outside agency permitting also. In the private sector, I’m confident the price for the same gazebo would be half or even less.

New wireless antennas coming to your neighborhood?

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Wireless antenna coming to your neighborhood? Lower Mac and other local governments may not be able to help you avoid it IF a new state law is passed.

5G antennas sit on top of existing structures.

 

Here is the background:

Earlier this year, Lower Mac began work on a sensible ordinance meant to work with wireless carriers on common sense placement of new 5G antennas.

The fear is that 5G equipment will sprout up on top of existing telephone poles, traffic signals and other structures proliferating like weeds over the next decade. We know from conversations with residents about a proposed cell antenna in Kratzer Farm Park (the Board of Commissioners eventually declined to rent land to the carrier) that our residents are very concerned about the placement of these facilities locally. Nearly 100 residents from Rolling Meadows attended the meeting. The flip side of this of course is we all want faster and more reliable cell service. We believe a proposed ordinance our staff has been working on addresses the desired balance by allowing new devices but only in places that make sense like for example industrial and commercial areas away from residents. If a new state law passes, however, our ordinance won’t matter. 
 

A few months ago however it came to our attention that the State Legislature – under heavy pressure from telecom lobbyists, drafted legislation to take away local control and allow for antennas to be put basically into any existing utility easement including near homes in neighborhoods. So, it would render any local ordinances we draft to try to get a grip on these facilities to protect neighborhoods moot.

 

No telephone poles in your neighborhood? The State Law would allow antennas placed on top on decorative lights. It also would allow construction of new poles where they don’t exist.

 Here are details of how the legislation would change current law:

  1. It would strip municipalities of their zoning authority over all wireless facilities, including new poles and antennas, in the rights-of-way. (Section 3j). While prescribing a maximum permitted height of 50 feet for poles, it also gives wireless companies the “right” to exceed this height limit via a “height limit waiver request.” (Section 3e) Municipalities would be forced to approve any pole of any height at any location regardless of its appropriateness.
  2. It would drastically cut fees that municipalities are permitted to assess for use of the rights-of-way. Specifically, the bill limits fees as follows: 1) application fee = $100; 2) fee for new poles = $25 per year; 3) fees for new antennas = $25 per year; and 4) fee for new antennas on municipally-owned poles = $50 per year. (Sections 3c, 4n, and 5d) These minimal fees would not allow municipalities to recover their costs of processing applications and managing wireless facilities, so local taxpayers would be forced to subsidize the wireless industry.
  3. It would significantly shorten the FCC’s mandatory approval timeframes. For example, the FCC allows 30 days for initial review of an application for completeness. HB 2564 would cut this period to 15 days. The FCC also allows 150 days for action on a new pole, after which it would be deemed approved. HB 2564 would shorten this period to 60 days. (Sections 4d and 4e) The bill also allows wireless companies to submit up to 20 permit requests in a single application with no increase in the time for municipalities to review them. (Section 4g)
Telecom companies want to expand 5G as fast as they can which is good but of course, they want to as cheaply as possible. The proposed state legislation is a billion dollar gift to providers. Proponents argue lower costs for providers will translate to lower bills. But don’t hold your breath.  The counter-argument is that antennas in residential areas will hurt property values. And of course, some folks bring up health issues as well. The jury is still out on that. When a very large antenna (the standard kind) was proposed on the Kratzer Farm Rolling Meadows residents had strong opinions about the health concerns and were understandably cautious. 
 
And lastly, because homeowners and property owners pay taxes on rights of way that they own, in essence, they would be forced to subsidize telecom companies. The proposed state legislation also caps fees.
 

Advocacy groups representing local governments oppose the legislation.

Richard J. Schuettler, executive director of the Pennsylvania Municipal League said, “It’s one-sided for the industry,” “People want to use 5G and we want it to happen. But there needs to be a recognition of local government and its historic inherent right to manage rights of way.”

 
So, what do you think?
 
Should this be something addressed locally on a case to case basis where communities can consider local concerns? Or should this be something regulated at the state or even federal level?

Harrisburg fails to act on property tax. Stymies local efforts.

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Last November I wrote a letter to the editor in the Morning Call encouraging folks to vote “YES” on a statewide referendum to reform property taxes through the state’s homestead exclusion program. That vote passed by a large margin, clearly demonstrating Pennsylvanians desire for reducing the property tax burden. Our state has among the highest in the Nation.

Problem is the vote alone which amended the state constitution does nothing in and of itself.  The State Legislature also needed to pass enabling legislation to allow local governments to further reduce property taxes on primary residences. To date, they have failed to do that.

The majority on our Lower Mac board of Commissioners stood ready to further reduce residential property taxes had the State legislature respected the wishes of Pennsylvanians and acted on enabling legislation. We assumed this would happen. It didn’t.
Note: We already utilize homestead to the maximum percentage currently allowed. Because of this, 1,100 of our lowest income households pay no property tax.

Our township budget and finance committee which I serve on has been discussing a strategy to further reduce residential property taxes for the last few months. We stood ready to take action in hopes that the legislature did their job. They didn’t and that’s incredibly disappointing since they had a clear mandate to do so directly from voters.

As I stated in the LTE last year, “If the referendum and corresponding legislation is passed, Lower Macungie will be able to eliminate the entire residential property tax for every qualifying residential household.” That was our intent and we were ready to act.

We just needed Harrisburg politicians to get out of our way. Sadly, they can’t even get out of their own way.

Commissioner Agenda 9/20

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The Lower Mac Board of Commissioners meet the first and 3rd Thursday of each month at 7pm in the township building.

Here is a link to the agenda with detail.

During announcements and presentations, we start things off with an update tonight from the Library Board. We will also have a construction update.  I had a chance to briefly tour the facility the other day. Both the new gym and the library expansion have taken form. The project is on budget and on time.

Hearings and Approvals.
Sewer Planning Module
We have one sewer planning module approval for the new Body Elite gym coming to Hamilton Blvd. What’s a sewer planning module you ask? The Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (Act 537) requires Municipalities to develop and implement official plans in order to address sewage disposal with the intention of correcting existing problems and preventing future problems. Each time a new development is proposed the Municipality is required by state law to revise this official plan through a process referred to as a “Sewage Facilities Planning Module”.

Lot line adjustment
We have a minor lot line adjustment for a residential property on Fish Hatchery Rd.

Final Plan Approval for Stone Hill Meadows.
This item is final approval for phase 2 of this conservation cluster design development. Phase 1 is currently being built on Gehman Rd. The project is resulting in 70% of the entire parcel being permanently preserved including a large area to be reforested. The mantra I always speak to that reflects the mindset of our board is that as a township our goal is to preserve what we can, where we can – and where we can’t demand highest quality. In this case, preservation wasn’t an option so we worked with the developer to allow residential development but at the same time preserve a substantial chunk of the property via permanent preservation easements. In addition to the large reforested section, the public open space will be managed natural areas and public walking paths. Another big win with this development was that none of the new roads will be township liabilities. They will be maintained privately. This project has been in the pipeline for over 3 years and this is the final approval for the final phase. This is an example of when we can’t preserve, we work towards having projects we can be proud of.

Non-agenda items
Speaking of the above mantra of preserve where and when we can….I wanted to note:

Farmland preservation update
On September 28th, we finalize the acquisition of 185 acres of farmland located at Brookside Rd. and Sauerkraut Ln. Next, we’ll apply the property for permanent protection through the County. Once complete, the land can never be developed. 300 homes could have been built, but after the 28th it will remain farmland forever. A full build-out had we not preserved would have significantly strained the School district, caused severe traffic issues and hurt efforts to keep taxes low.

I want to thank the County Farmland Preservation Board and the Wildlands Conservancy for their help with this important preservation win.

 

2019 Lower Mac Budget Adoption Schedule

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What goes into adopting the yearly township budget? Here is an outline.

The formal process (although preparations are year-round) began in August. As you can see each year the proposed budget is put on the Twp. website for public review and comment well before we vote on final adoption. We also hold numerous public hearings in October giving residents the chance to offer feedback on multiple occasions. All public hearings will be recorded and placed online for residents to review at your convenience.

Here is the schedule:

Lower Macungie Township Schedule for 2019 Budget Preparation

August 3, 2018 – Letter to Professional Service Providers went out Requesting Rates. Emails were sent to Community Organizations and Committees soliciting budget requests. This includes the Library and Fire Dept.

August 20th, 2018 – Distributed Budget Packets to Township Departments – Public Works (Includes Parks, Facilities, Roads and Sewers), Community Center, Planning (includes Zoning, Code Enforcement and Permits), Finance & Accounting.

September 7th, 2018 – Obtained Department Budgets with explanations

September 10th, 2018 – Obtained Budget Requests from Community Organizations & Committees. (Includes the Fire Dept., and Library) Obtained 2019 rates from professional services. (Includes solicitor and Engineer)

September 14th, 2018 – Began First Budget Draft (Internal Review)

September 28th, 2018 – Draft Budget will be Submitted to the Board of Commissioners for Review. This is Commissioners first chance to review the entire draft document.

October 15th, 2018 – Board of Commissioners’ Public Workshop #1 @ 7 p.m. Opportunity for Public Comment

October 22, 2018 – Board of Commissioners’ Public Workshop #2 @ 7 p.m. Opportunity for Public Comment

October 29, 2018 – Board of Commissioners’ Public Workshop #3 @ 7 p.m. Opportunity for Public Comment

September 5th – Finalize Budget (internal review)

September 9th – Budget Distributed to BOC (internal deadline)

September 15th – First Public Reading of Budget, Public Advertising for Inspection and Ordinance

Nov. 16 – Dec. 20, 2018 – Public Inspection

December 20, 2018 – First opportunity for adoption of 2019 Budget BOC Meeting 7 p.m.

 

 

Independents help pay for primaries, but can’t participate

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I have a slightly different opinion on a recent (though not new) proposal to open up primaries to 740,000 independent and “unaffiliated” Pennsylvania voters to select a Democrat or Republican ballot on election day. Under the proposal, nothing would change for voters who are registered as either Republicans or Democrats. They would continue to be required to vote only on their respective ballots. Here is a recent article on the proposal:

Open primary voting in Pennsylvania? The state Senate’s top leader is floating a bill to allow it.

Most takes on this subject have to do with inducing higher turnout during primaries. Though concerning, my main problem is that all taxpayers including those locked out of the process entirely are funding what is essentially a private party process. This is because in PA county and state tax dollars pay the costs associated with holding elections. Obviously, it’s important for political parties to have the right to elect their own nominees. I’m not arguing against that. I just think that if large segments of voters are “locked out” of a public process it’s unfair to ask all taxpayers to fund it. This is the case today. In Lower Mac, for instance, over 3,500 registered independent voters are forced to help fund primaries through public tax dollars but are prevented from taking part in closed primaries.

How much does our closed primary cost you ask? Like with most items, the state of Pennsylvania has one of the most expensive systems in the nation with Presidential primaries costing over 20 million dollars. This pays for administration, use of buildings, contracts, and portions of salaries for publicly paid for employees, purchasing and maintaining publicly owned machines etc.

As long as the two parties rely on public taxpayer dollars to fund what is essentially a private function then yes, primaries should be opened up to independents. Now, if leaders from the two parties have an issue with that (in many ways understandable) then the two major parties ought to fund their own private internal nomination processes with private monies.

As long as we use public dollars to finance elections, everyone should be allowed to vote.

Seeking soldiers from East Penn area to enroll in troop support program

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13th Annual Troop Support Program
Each year Lower Mac collects donated items at the Community Center and ships boxes to individual soldiers from the community to share with their Troop. The boxes are shipped out in early December for troops who cannot be home with their families for the Holidays. The Township supports the event by paying for shipping and related charges for the packages sent to soldiers.
 
So, we are seeking soldiers names who are serving from the East Penn School District. We need name and address (with APO or FPO).
 

To enroll: Call the Community Center Monday-Friday,  8am–4:30pm at 610-966-6924 to register your loved one for the program.

To donate: We welcome the donations of the following NEW items:

Beef Jerky/Turkey Jerky (no pork)
Cheese Crackers & Cookies (no chocolate)
Gum & Candy (no chocolate)
Hard Container – Pretzels/Nuts/Chips
Energy Bars (no chocolate)
Dry Milk
Juice Boxes
Instant Coffee/Cocoa/Tea Bags
Cereal
Dried Fruit
Beverage Mixes – Ice Tea/Lemonade/Fruit Flavors
Pre-packaged individual fruit cup, pudding, applesauce, & raisins

Donations accepted from September 4 through November 25 at the LMT Community Center Monday during hours of operation.

More detailed info here

Other News:
Lower Mac Preserves 185 acres of farmland. 

John McCain & American virtue.

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I’ve always greatly admired John McCain. There have been (many) times I’ve not agreed with him. As an example, his repeated support of spending vast amounts of American blood and treasure on foreign entanglements. One thing he always preached however was that our shared values go beyond policy disagreements. Disagreements over foreign policy are very much a serious thing. So, we argue our positions with passion. But end of the day we are all still Americans. One nation under one flag. That’s what John McCain was always about. It’s an ideal he personally suffered the unimaginable for.

John Sydney McCain was not a perfect man. He was the first to admit. More emphatically as he grew older and wiser. He possessed the sort of self-awareness that used to be an American hallmark.

I carved out time today to watch the memorial. I’m utterly moved. My wife and I don’t have cable so I tuned into Facebook to watch a stream. I turned off the comments on the feed. As I read so many completely ignorant and small comments from folks who seemingly turned completely to identity politics to fill some void I feel nothing but sadness.

Our nation has always honored self-sacrifice. Service. Integrity. honesty. Humbleness. American virtues are being showcased today in our capital. These are things John McCain exemplified but unfortunately, have fallen to the wayside as values. There was a time, when something like this brought us together. For many, we have that today.

It doesn’t always seem like that’s the case now. America remains wounded in that way. Patriotism and nationalism are not one in the same. Patriotism is grounded in the principles of our American democracy brilliantly laid out by our founders. Nationalism is entirely different. Something mired in tribalism. Factional elements are to blame for this as they always have been. In fact, the founders themselves were the first to warn us. Those who promote divisions are two sides of the same coin. I do have faith we will turn this around. 

The American Greatness that has existed since our inception in our shared values will again prevail.

Balance the books. Throw the playbook in the trash can.

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Over time if a community takes on more liabilities associated with growth decisions than new revenue generated by build out, they eventually are left with a cash shortfall. Simple accounting 101.

 

When this happens there is a generic playbook that typically presents elected officials with three bad choices. 1.) Raise taxes 2.) Take on (more?) debt or 3.) Go hat in hand to the State/Feds for pass-through money or a bailout. None of these are options are attractive. But more important none are long-term sustainable. 

There is a 4th option. That’s taking control of our own destiny by proactively planning ahead before we’re forced into a no-win scenario. 

This is at the center of a conversation we’re having tonight at a joint BOC & Planning Commission meeting related to choices we have about taking on long-term liabilities when certain types of new development plans are put before us. There are levers we can push and pull and in doing that we need to be obsessive about accounting for revenues, expenses, assets, and long-term liabilities (do the math). Do we continue to subsidize negative transactions or do we simply stop?

The More We Grow, the Poorer We Become

We can buck trends and become fiscally resilient with sustainably low taxes and high quality of life for the long run. We just have to think differently. In PA 40% of local communities are distressed in some fashion. Shocking percentage. This means the playbook needs to be throw in the garbage can. That’s the position I’m arguing tonight.

The joint BOC & Planning Commission meeting is tonight 7pm in meeting Rm. A.

I oppose 5 dollar registration fee hike.

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Another Morning Call article today covering a proposed registration fee increase by Lehigh County driven by the County Executive. Without more information, I DO NOT support this.

First, this is presented as one of those disappointing binary choices – For example, raise the gas tax or watch roads “insert alarming hyperbole here”. Or raise registration fees or risk “insert alarming hyperbole here”. (Note: PA legislature recently raised our gas tax, we have the highest in the nation – yet our road situation continues to get worse, not better.)

Rarely are choices this simple. For example, to push back on binary thinking – In my opinion, before raising another cent of new revenue as a band-aid (not a solution), we have to address underlying problems. The system is broken. In PA it’s due to the disproportionate amount of money spent on road expansion vs. road repair. Until we re-balance priorities, feeding the pig won’t solve anything.

Today, Pennsylvania spends record dollars on roads yet things don’t improve. When I wrote this blog post in 2014 after the state legislature increased our gas tax (I opposed) I said to folks, “if you think this is the end of the increases, I got a bridge to sell you…” And here we are just 4 years later another increase. Yes, this is a County proposal but without question, the state is driving it.

We keep getting duped. And here we go again. If this passes and we continue to ignore the actual problems just prepare yourself now for another increase and then another and another. What’s that old definition of insanity?

-Ron

How to keep taxes low in the long run? Preserve Farmland.