Sunday, December 14, 2008 12:25 PM EST
POTTSTOWN — When Borough Council meets Tuesday to consider more changes to a budget that threatens to raise property taxes by 19 percent in 2009, two major unanswered questions will loom over their deliberations.Although council made a controversial vote at the Dec. 8 meeting to eliminate 12 positions and partially fill a budget gap with $177,000 from a Waste Management payment, which was supposed to be used to keep trash costs down, it failed to vote on two major recommendations made by the administration. One would cut 25 percent of the $185,000 the borough gives to each of its four fire companies every year. The other is the elimination of the borough's economic development director position, a post now held by Terri Lampe and which borough officials said costs taxpayers $180,000 a year.Although council Vice President Greg Berry made both motions, none of the other council members present would venture a second so a vote could be taken.It seems likely that when council meets again Tuesday for further budget discussions these matters will be high on the list of potential action items.
Prior to formally considering the measures, council members heard from residents, workers and managers.Fire Chief Richard Lengel, who opposes the cuts to the fire companies, outlined changes he could make to his budget and insurance expenses the fire companies have said they will absorb which could save the borough more than $26,000. He argued that the funding cut could be absorbed in no other way but by cutting back on the paid drivers in each firehouse, and that could endanger lives and property.Because the number of volunteers who respond to fires has dwindled over the years, getting a paid professional to the scene as quickly as possible makes all the difference in the world, said Lengel.He said for every minute a structure fire burns without being fought, it doubles in size."Over the past 50 years, we have done the job with the same 12 positions, no increase in personnel," Lengel said. "In 1997, we had 9,000 man hours logged, but over the last three years (with fewer volunteers), we've had 4,000 man hours, even though the number of calls stays constant."He said out of 324 calendar days in 2008, only 35 had zero fire calls and 75 percent of the remaining days have two or more fire calls."Lessening funding for the fire companies, which will affect having four drivers on all the time, and you start rolling the dice," Lengel said, "and that's my case."Former Councilman Arthur Green, who now sits on the borough's economic advisory board, urged the council to "fully fund the police and firefighters. They are the most basic and tangible function of government and I support raising taxes, if necessary, to support them."Green also urged the council to restore if not the economic development director's position, "at least some mechanism for allowing the projects to continue forward."Green said, "The strategic plan lays out the future of Pottstown. If you sacrifice it, you sacrifice our future. It is a false economy to do this for a few dollars that you might save today if it ends up cutting off future dollars.""I have been seeing e-mails that suggest by cutting this position we're not going to follow the strategic plan and that is completely false," said Berry. "We are considering the value of having an economic development director, and if that position is or will be providing a return over five, 10 and 20 years."Added Berry, "No one has ever provided me any numbers that show we're getting a return on this investment. All I ever get is a lot of innuendo, a lot of fluff. Just because we have no director does not stop economic development efforts."Borough Manager Ray Lopez told the council that when the recommendation to eliminate the position was formed "we looked at the issue in its totality, the costs involved, the expense of wages, benefits, meetings, conferences, the office, the support and concluded it cost us $180,000. We thought that was a big wad of money to swallow."Council President David Garner said he met prior to the Dec. 8 meeting with Tim Phelps, the executive director of the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce, and was told the chamber and Pottstown Area Industrial Development "want to address the issue" and that Phelps provided him with "an outline" of how that might happen."They want to figure out a way to assume the management and advancement of the plan," Garner said. However, "it's not all ironed out so we don't know yet what that would look like and the chamber is still looking for other partners."He reminded the council that a recent deal with The Hill School for the abandonment of Green Street provides for a $25,000 payment from the school to be used for economic development.Other department heads also outlined how they cut their budgets.Public Works Director Doug Yerger said the cuts he made to the streets department would be most visible to taxpayers "during larger snowstorms. That could be the penalty. If we don't have the manpower, we might have to hire people from outside."Police Chief Mark Flanders, whose department consumes the largest portion of the budget's general fund, said by the time he was done, $390,000 had been cut from his budget."At the first swipe, we cut $70,000 and then they came back and asked for more, so we had to look at decreases in the work force. So eliminating one full-time office worker and one part-time parking enforcement officer added another $150,000 to the total," Flanders said."It's painful, it truly is," said Flanders. "What else can I say?"Also painful was the laying off of workers, notices for which were delivered last week, but who goes may not be the same as who was proposed to go.First of all, the borough's contract with the American Federal of State, County and Municipal Employees unit allows those with seniority to "bump" into lower positions they have held if their position is eliminated. Also, complications may ensue from a grievance the union filed over the fact that the contract calls for the borough to "lay off all temporary, seasonal and part-time employees within the department prior to any layoff of regular full-time employees," which is not what was done.Part-time employees who were not identified as being among those to be laid off include the newly hired part-time water meter reader and the second parking enforcement officer.It remained unclear Friday how the union's action will affect the eventual outcome. Also unclear is what the final effect will be on the taxpayer.Assistant Borough Manager Jason Bobst, who has helped put the budget proposal together, could not immediately calculate the exact effect a 19 percent tax hike would have on the average property assessment in Pottstown, which stands at about $78,000. He also failed to fulfill an offer to e-mail that information to The Mercury last week.That may well be among the details fleshed out at Tuesday's council meeting, a meeting made necessary largely because of Garner's refusal to accept a 19 percent tax hike."I am not satisfied this is a budget I am ready to vote on," Garner told council members."I am trying to turn over rocks. I think 19 percent is way out of line," Garner said. "I don't think we've done a real good job here."
http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/2008/12/14/news/srv0000004268644.txt
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