Newtown Township Board of Supervisors
Special
Work Session – 2002 Budget Hearing
October
15, 2001
MINUTES WERE APPROVED at the regular meeting November 28, 2001. BUDGET MEETING OF 10/15/01: Mr. Weaver moved to approve the minutes of the 10/15/01 budget meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Jirele and passed unanimously.
PRESENT: Steve Sanderlin, Chairman; Scott Harp, Secretary/Treasurer; Dick
Weaver; Raymond “Skip” Goodnoe; Tom Harwood, Interim Township Manager; Bob
Pellegrino, Incoming Township Manager; Elaine Gibbs, Finance Director.
DEPARTMENT HEADS/PRESENTERS: William Wert, Parks and Recreation Director;
Robert R. Larason, Vice President of Carroll Engineering; James Bowe, Member of
the Capital Planning Committee.
Attached
to these minutes are the agenda of the meeting and presentations given by each
department head.
Mr.
Sanderlin called the meeting to order at 6:05 pm.
PARKS & RECREATION
Mr.
Wert recognized the Parks & Open Space Committee for their contributions to
and support of the Parks and Recreation Department, and said they had a
productive year. He said that member
Russ Strover secured grant monies that were used to plant the 20 trees native
to this area in the Tree Grove at Roberts Ridge Park.
Mr.
Wert reviewed developments in Newtown’s park system this year:
§
The
addition of the Tree Grove and provision of driveway access and parking
facilities at Roberts Ridge Park.
§
The
completion of the Newtown Trail.
§
The
enhancement of Chandler Fields by the Council Rock Newtown Little League.
Mr.
Wert thanked the Recreation Board for their support. He noted the emergence of a Skate Park Task Force, which
continues to research and investigate the costs, concerns, pros and cons of
building a skate park facility in Newtown Township. He also recognized the dedication, hard work and creativity of
his staff.
Mr.
Wert reviewed the statistics for recreation over the last year, noting a 19.48%
increase in program offerings, a 5% increase in participation, an increase of
22% in income this year – with two months left. He also noted that, as of October 12th, the recreation
component of the budget is operating at 106% self-sufficiency. Mr. Wert said next year’s budget targets the
recreation component to be 95% self-sufficient.
Mr.
Wert reviewed the number of programs offered over the last five years, as well
as recreation performance. He noted
that 13% of the 411 programs were cancelled due to lack of participation, the
lowest cancellation rate since 1997.
Mr. Wert said that the number of registrations received increased 5%
over last year, and 23% of the 2494 individuals that registered participated in
two or more programs offered the Newtown Parks and Recreation. The majority of participation occurs in
children’s programs. Mr. Wert reviewed
the graph analyzing age distribution, which helped the department learn which
age categories were doing well and which age categories needed improvement. Mr. Wert reviewed income by recreation
division, with summer camps representing 46% of the program receipts. He estimated that program receipts this year
would total approximately $290,000.
Mr.
Wert recognized the work of the Ad Hoc Community Center Committee, and
summarized the committee’s recommendations:
§
Assume
the lease on the Acme building on Sycamore Street;
§
Appoint
a new committee to commence with establishing the community center, and
§
Should
a permanent community center be deemed appropriate, the site should be on the
21 acres along Wrights Road across from the Newtown
Elementary School.
Mr.
Sanderlin asked Mr. Wert about capital expenses. Mr. Wert replied that the cost for backstop improvements were
greater than expected and the line item was adjusted to reflect the difference.
CAPITAL PLANNING
Committee member Jim Bowe gave some background, and noted
challenges the committee faces:
Mr. Bowe said that, due to the factors above, the General
Fund could no longer fund large capital improvement projects. He said that the supervisors would need to
consider some options: drop or postpone some capital improvement projects,
rearrange capital project timing, seek a new bond issue, or raise millage. These options would address the possible
cash flow difficulty with the Sycamore Street project and the ability to go
forward with the Municipal Complex project.
Mr. Bowe reviewed the list of projects for 2002, noting which projects
remain unfunded.
He reviewed options
suggested by the committee for the funding of the unfounded projects:
Mr. Goodnoe asked if the township should or should not
consider long range funding to cover short term cash flow problems. Mr. Harwood said that this could avoid the
need for a bridge loan. Mr. Goodnoe
questioned whether there was a consensus concerning the municipal complex
expansion; Mr. Bowe said that the committee was just offering options to fund that
project. Mr. Goodnoe said he didn’t
feel there was a consensus on the board supporting the municipal complex
project, and said he didn’t want the
township to go further into debt. Mr.
Harp said that the issue would need to be
discussed further, and that opinions might change.
Mr. Bowe said that if the township were to build a
community center on its own, a
millage increase might be
necessary. Mr. Goodnoe felt this
statement was premature. Mr. Sanderlin
said that by stretching debt over twenty years, keeping the payments the same,
some additional funding sources could be gained. Mr. Bowe said that a number of scenarios were possible and that
the committee had put forth one.
On behalf of the committee, Mr. Bowe thanked Mr. Harwood
and Ms. Gibbs for their assistance in the preparation of the budget report.
ENGINEER
Mr. Larason reviewed the services to the township
performed by Carroll Engineering:
Mr. Larason said that the engineers help implement what
the township decides to fund.
Mr. Larason noted that their services are funded through
the general fund, recreation fund, special project funds, and traffic and
municipal impact funds. He reviewed the
projects for 2001, including Walnut & Swamp Intersection improvements,
Roberts Ridge Subdivision, accident reconstruction plan, township mapping,
ISTEA trail, brake retarder study, assistance to the Planning Commission with the
2001 TIP, the environmental investigations at the Acme and Wrights Road
properties. They also helped to select
the engineer for the Swamp Road discussions and investigations.
Mr. Larason reviewed the project completions planned for
2002:
§
Linton Hill Culvert
§
Wrights & Durham signal
§
Hemlock & Stoopville pedestrian crossing (submitted for PennDOT permit)
§
Hanover & Richboro Roads crosswalk signal (submitted for PennDOT permit)
§
Richboro Road Trail – from Tyler to the school district
§
Construction management – Sycamore Street project, Bypass
closed loop system, Buck & Richboro intersections with the Bypass,
completion of the design for Roberts Ridge Basin
§
Impact Fee/CIP studies, Capital Improvement Plan
New projects planned for 2002 included: Twining Bridge drainage and shoulder
improvements, township complex improvements, construction management for the
Washington Crossing/Linton Hill signal and the Newtown central business
district signal coordination, Newtown
Trail #2 study, and additional township
mapping.
Mr. Goodnoe asked how sophisticated the township’s GIS
system is; Mr. Larason said that it is very sophisticated, and that they need
someone to do data input.
PUBLIC WORKS/CODES
Mr. Harwood reviewed the responsibilities of the
department. He said that the township
took back 7 miles of roads in 2001, bringing the total number of roads to be
serviced for snow and ice removal to 72 miles.
An additional ½ mile of road from New Haven will be added for maintenance
to the Liquid Fuels funding; the 3.5-mile Newtown Trail will be an additional
maintenance responsibility. Liquid fuel
funds should total approximately $300,000 in 2002.
Mr. Harwood noted a major staff loss this year, Lou
Melchiondo, Supervisor of Roads and Public Facilities for five years; his
direction and experience will be missed.
Mr. Harwood described the responsibilities for the township grounds,
with 133 acres requiring weekly mowing in the summer months. A cost for an additional maintenance person
has been incorporated into the 2002 budget.
The 2002 budget will be relatively unchanged.
Mr. Harwood described the Code Enforcement Department’s
services to the community, which include processing and monitoring building,
zoning and land development controls, as well as informational services to the
community. The township’s efforts to
create and maintain constructive lines of communication has resulted in
increased requests for service from residents, usually related to code
enforcement. This is expected to
increase. Twenty-four application and
permit forms are available on the township’s website; this has facilitated the
permit process.
Due to the increased demand for services, additional
temporary staff were added to Codes; Mr. Harwood said he would like to see this
additional staff become permanent. Two
new municipal secretaries were appointed this year, along with a temporary
assistant.
Mr. Harwood said he expects code enforcement in 2002 to
focus on development issues. The
township should expect a consistent flow of variance appeals, impervious
surface relief, and pressure towards converting older residential neighborhoods
to commercial development and uses. The
increased demands for services have resulted in a slowdown of application processing. Housing the department continues to be a
concern; workspace remains an ongoing problem and a temporary building is
proposed for immediate occupancy next year.
FINANCE/ADMINISTRATION
Mr. Harwood said that the board would receive a final,
marked up version of the budget at the November 14, 2001 meeting, which will be
hung by the board at that time. He
noted that the emphasis in 2001 was on productivity and customer service in all
departments, and accurate staff and enthusiastic services to people. He said that the administration maintains an
on-going and open dialogue with the organized labor units. He noted that there had been almost a 100%
turnover in staff, which provides an opportunity for training new people
effectively.
Ms. Gibbs detailed the many responsibilities of the
Finance Department, calling the department the nucleus of the township
operations. She described the process
for ordering, and said that the township’s policy is Best Price for the Best
Service.
Ms. Gibbs noted that three of the four office staff have
accounting education, and they have freed Elaine to attend to capital
issues. Ms. Gibbs said that the
township has had difficulty storing and locating documents, and she is
investigating two electronic imaging systems that would provide storage and
retention of those records that are regulated by State Law. GASB 34 will require new financial
reporting requirements in 2004; funding will be requested in the future. GIS will be helpful in analyzing the
township’s infrastructure, a key piece of the GASB 34 reporting. Ms. Gibbs described the budget preparation
process.
Mr. Harwood said they have proposed continued support of
street light and hydrant expenses by the General Fund, costing the average
taxpayer about $75 a year. They also
propose housing the Codes Office in a temporary building alongside the existing
Codes Building. Mr. Harwood noted that
the Zoning Hearing Board has a budgeted increase in the solicitor’s line item
for 2002. He said that the HARB’s
project of the awarding of historic date plaques to historic structures would
be continued with the 2002 budget. Mr.
Harwood said that the Business Development Council had completed their Resident
Packet and township map projects this year.
MINOR FUNDS
Mr. Harwood noted that the township receives approximately
$200,000 per year from the state to supplement their pension contributions to
both the Uniformed and Non-uniformed defined benefit plans. Mr. Harwood said that this year’s budget is
$30,000 for the education incentive program
In Interfund Transfers, Mr. Harwood said that they are
supporting bond payments with $200,000 of general funds, and are proposing
another installment of $80,000 for the expansion of Station 55. He reported that the township’s strong
relationship with the fire company and their expertise has resulted in a fire
rating of 5 across the community.
Mr. Harwood said that in the Impact fund in 2002 the
principal activity is the payment of debt from prior open space purchases and
financing of selected capital items:
traffic signals at Washington Crossing & Linton Hill Road and
Jefferson & Sycamore Streets, and the Newtown Bypass pre-empt system.
Mr. Harwood summarized the township’s generation of
income:
1)
Real Estate taxes of ten mils, which go to the special
funds, park maintenance, fire, rescue and debt.
2)
Fees, services and charges are almost 40% of the
township’s income.
3)
About 60% of the township’s revenue is from the ½ of 1%
earned income tax.
Mr. Harwood noted that the percentages in #2 and #3 above
are usual.
ADJOURNMENT
Without objection, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 pm.
Respectfully Submitted by:
______________________________
Leslie Dunleavy, Recording
Secretary 11/15/01