Township supervisors grappling with several unexpected expenditures
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Bill Hewton, a board member for the Kennett Area Senior Center, explains why the New Garden Township Supervisors should make a $1,500 donation next year.
A recurring question posed at Monday night’s New Garden Township meeting by Supervisor Robert J. Perrotti: “Where’s the money coming from?”
The supervisors are grappling with a number of unbudgeted expenses. They include a minimum cost of more than $20,000 to rent a temporary trailer for the New Garden Township Police Department, currently housed in a mold-plagued facility; a $17,015 contract to scan the township’s 11,710 pages of files, which presently have no backup; and $516.36-a-month lease-purchase option on a new color printer.
Interim Township Manager Spence Andress offered a source for one of the three possible expenditures. He said a recent savings in health premiums would finance the scanning contract. The absence of a solution for the other two led to some lively discussion.
Calling himself one of Andress’s “biggest fans,” Supervisor Bob Norris questioned whether fiscal responsibility dictated that the township select a permanent township manager. According to township disbursements, Andress received $14,636 for working 114.7 hours, which amounts to about $127 an hour. Perrotti questioned whether the township could make do with its current copier, which Andress described as being “on its last legs.”
Lamenting that no long-term solution had been put in place for the police department, the supervisors agreed that the quickest way to remedy the situation was to rent a trailer, which could be in place within two weeks. They approved its lease but concluded that township staff could be used to whittle down the estimated $33,000 cost by doing some installation work in-house.
“It’s a health and safety issue,” said Norris. “The township has been looking for options to house them somewhere else for eight or nine years.”
On a more upbeat note, New Garden Township Police Sgt. Keith Cowdright announced that three well-qualified candidates were being recommended for part-time police positions, part of a pilot initiative to reduce overtime while increasing police coverage to 24 hours a day.
The candidates are Michael King, a 25-year veteran of the Pennsylvania State Police who retired in April as a corporal; Philip J. Magorry, a 25-year veteran of the City of Newark Police Department, where he works as an assistant patrol supervisor; and Pedro Melendez, a bi-lingual township resident who worked briefly as a part-time officer in East Whiteland Township. The supervisors said the three would receive their oath of office at the July 22 meeting.
Against the backdrop of strained finances, the board heard two requests for funds. The Demon Lights Committee, a parents’ group that has raised $132,000 for stadium lights at Kennett High, requested a donation from the township to help close its $30,000 shortfall. Norris praised the endeavor but elicited no dissent when he said he didn’t thing it was “the township’s job” to contribute.
Several representatives of the Kennett Area Senior Center spoke about the diverse programs for its growing membership of 600, 73 of whom live in New Garden Township, said Tom Hoehle., the center’s volunteer coordinator. One of the most ambitious programs, Neighbors in Action, successfully matches volunteers with people who need assistance, explained Ken Schreffler, the program’s coordinator.
Bill Hewton, who was elected to the center’s board in January, said the group is trying to collect $20 per member per year from the townships that the center serves. That would amount to slightly less than $1,500, and he urged the supervisors to consider budgeting that item. “I have gained such an appreciation for this organization,” he said. The board acknowledged the good work the center is doing and agreed to consider the request.
Andress said the township wanted to make sure that residents were aware of a funding opportunity from the Chester County Agricultural Land Preservation Board, a competitive process to receive compensation for relinquishing development rights. He said the deadline to apply is Aug. 1. Information on qualifications and procedure is available at http://www.chesco.org/index.aspx?NID=1368.
Ending on a fiscal note, Supervisor Robert J. Perrotti suggested that with all the checks the township writes, it could save time and money by switching to electronic checking. “It sounds like a good idea to me,” responded Supervisor Betty Gordon.
