A push from a local residents’ organization has resulted in the distribution of Kennett Township’s bursary statistics to the public
By P.J. D’Annunzio, Staff Writer, KennettTimes.com
KENNETT — Patriotism in the spirit of Thomas Jefferson was alive and well at the township Board of Supervisors meeting on Monday night which met under the watchful eye of Bill Hewton, Chairman of the Kennett Township Residents for Good Government (KTRGG).
KTRGG is a local group consisting of 10 core members and an additional 15 volunteers dedicated to the monitoring and questioning of the business of local government, specifically the township and the surrounding municipalities.
“We have several suggestions for how they run their business here, how they should avoid secrecy,” Hewton said.
The most recent result of the group’s dogged push for open information is the presentation of a financial report (in the form of a multi-page document) by township Secretary/Treasurer Lisa Moore.
“The document explains different information about the township,” said Moore, “When it was established, the internal controls, the budget policy, and how our money is invested.”
Some of the tax revenue figures released by the Township include real estate which collected $311,240; the per capita tax at $35,900 (since been eliminated); property tax at $248,062; and Open Space at $474,641. The total earned income of all taxes was $1,772,426.
The Net assets of the township at the end of 2010 were reported to be valued at $10,039,270. The total property and equipment that the township owns is valued at $6,907,067. Currently the township’s total balance is $11,373,000.
“To date we’ve received 75% of our expected yearly revenue which is not abnormal but a lot of things we expected to be lower this year are higher,” Moore said.
Hewton, a former Planning Commission member and one of the leaders of an effort in 2010 to expand the board of supervisors to five from its current three, said he was pleased with the dissemination of information, stating that it was highly appreciated by the KTRGG. Despite the recent production of the document, however, Hewton seeks to continue his monitoring of the township’s government, stating that the content of the meetings is pre-planned and scripted, contrasting it to other municipalities.
“If you go to New Garden or East Marlborough they all have five supervisors. Neither one of those groups will ever go back to three again, ” he said, “You can go in there and they’ll talk about an issue, they won’t meet by themselves and write down everything that they’re going to say and read what they’ve thought about rather than talk about it. “
The document, which explains in detail the fiscal statistics of the township, is available for public review at the Kennett Township building located at 801 Burrows Run Road, Chadds Ford, PA.
