Good morning,
I read, with surprise, the article in today’s edition regarding council approving the budget. The article contained several inaccuracies and incorrect information.
This first incorrect piece of information is that the police wage freeze would save about $138,000, not $178,000 as reported. Council did not lay off Terri Lampe, we eliminated funding for the economic development department, there is a big difference. Council also did not layoff any other employees, Council cannot layoff anyone (except for the Borough Manager and Police Chief), again, funding for those positions were eliminated. The sentence that says “Toroney also lobbied for an independent financial audit, which would allow council members to annually question the previous year’s budget” is also very inaccurate. We have an auditing firm (which is required by law) that does conduct an audit every year. What Mr. Toroney was saying is that he feels the audit report should be presented to council, which it has not (at least since I’ve been on Council). On a side note, last year’s audit was used heavily in developing this year’s budget.
The prepared statement I read was a prepared statement by council, which I made sure I mentioned twice. See statement below. The statement was not regarding the budget decision, but instead was to thank the police for their willingness to work with the borough to keep costs down. The comment attributed to me (true extent of the borough’s financial situation) was read from the prepared statement thanking police. My personal comments, that I made last night regarding the budget were: I thought this budget process was a great improvement over previous budget cycles and that I appreciate the fact that it was an open process whether or not people chose to participate. In my opinion we needed to go deeper with cuts. However, it was apparent that further cuts and recommendations of our budget team would not be supported by the majority of council.
Mark Gibson is not a volunteer firefighter, he is a paid driver.
I feel that a correction would be appropriate.
Thank you,
Greg Berry
Pottstown Borough Council Vice President
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Council Prepared Statement/Press Release
As everyone knows, we are in difficult financial times. The economic problems
which the Country is facing has impacted large corporations, small businesses and
governments at all levels. In Pottstown, we are no exception.
As a community, we face many challenges moving forward into 2009, and in future
years to come. Many difficult decisions need to be made and we need to work together
cooperatively in order to solve our short-term economic woes and address our long-term problems that we will likely face.
With that background, since June of this year representatives of the Borough and
the Pottstown Police Officers have been attempting to negotiate a Police Contract, as the existing Contract expires December 31, 2008. Unfortunately, it was not until November of this year, however, that the Borough discovered the extent of the Borough’s financial condition. At that point, in the spirit of cooperation, the Police Officers graciously extended an offer to the Borough to allow for a one year Contract extension with no salary increase. Proceeding through proper channels, representatives of the Association and the Borough have since met and negotiated, and are pleased to announce, a two year extension of the existing Contract which will carry the Borough through the end of calendar year 2010.
The two year Contract will freeze existing base compensation for all police positions
for 2009 at the 2008 rates. The 2010 increase in base levels of compensation will provide for a 3.5% increase.
The savings to the Borough’s General Fund in 2009 will exceed $138,000.00, or the
equivalent of .154 mills. The Borough Council and the management would like to thank the Police for their offer and their willingness to work with the Borough during difficult economic times. The savings to the Borough are significant and have assisted Council in accomplishing savings that might not have otherwise been available when attempting to finalize the 2009 Budget.
We thank you for your cooperation and your efforts toward this goal that benefits the
entire community.
which the Country is facing has impacted large corporations, small businesses and
governments at all levels. In Pottstown, we are no exception.
As a community, we face many challenges moving forward into 2009, and in future
years to come. Many difficult decisions need to be made and we need to work together
cooperatively in order to solve our short-term economic woes and address our long-term problems that we will likely face.
With that background, since June of this year representatives of the Borough and
the Pottstown Police Officers have been attempting to negotiate a Police Contract, as the existing Contract expires December 31, 2008. Unfortunately, it was not until November of this year, however, that the Borough discovered the extent of the Borough’s financial condition. At that point, in the spirit of cooperation, the Police Officers graciously extended an offer to the Borough to allow for a one year Contract extension with no salary increase. Proceeding through proper channels, representatives of the Association and the Borough have since met and negotiated, and are pleased to announce, a two year extension of the existing Contract which will carry the Borough through the end of calendar year 2010.
The two year Contract will freeze existing base compensation for all police positions
for 2009 at the 2008 rates. The 2010 increase in base levels of compensation will provide for a 3.5% increase.
The savings to the Borough’s General Fund in 2009 will exceed $138,000.00, or the
equivalent of .154 mills. The Borough Council and the management would like to thank the Police for their offer and their willingness to work with the Borough during difficult economic times. The savings to the Borough are significant and have assisted Council in accomplishing savings that might not have otherwise been available when attempting to finalize the 2009 Budget.
We thank you for your cooperation and your efforts toward this goal that benefits the
entire community.
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