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- Boro OKs Fire Services Agreement
- Snyder's Tirade Against Fellow Supervisors
- Sewer Authority Will Seek to Sell Land in Open Market
Newtown Borough Agrees to Township's Fire Services Agreement for 2026
At its 8 April 2026 Work Session, the Borough Council moved to enter a one-year Intermunicipal Cooperation Agreement for fire services with Newtown Township for 2026.
- Terms: The Borough will pay a flat fee for the full year, replacing previous complex formulas.
- Scope: The agreement covers all services previously enjoyed by the Borough and is retroactive to January 1, 2026.
Services include staffing during weather emergencies, fire prevention education for the churches and pre-schools, fire investigations, record keeping/data collection, annual fire and safety inspections and re-inspections, safety consultations with local businesses when requested, provide home safety inspections when requested, monitor current and future safety issues. In addition, the Emergency Services Department will not continue to work on Emergency Management issues.
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Supervisor Snyder Demands Role in Fire Services Negotiations
It all began at the 25 March 2026 Newtown Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting when newly-elected Newtown Supervisor Melissa Merk reported briefly on a meeting that she and BOS Chair Ed Merriman had with members of the Newtown Borough Council concerning the fire services agreement between the Township and the Borough. Then Supervisor Elen Snyder launched into a tirade against the two new BOS members:
"The fact is that there are no negotiations happening," said Snyder. "I'm the only one that knows where we are as far as that is concerned," she claimed. "Besides the fact that anything that's discussed with fire should include me because I'm the only one that knows anything about it," she added.
Later in the meeting, resident John D'Aprile said what was on everyone's mind: "You know, if you're that miserable, resign. Let somebody else take your place!"
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Sewer Authority Will Seek to Sell Land in Open Market
At the March 10, 2026, meeting of the Newtown Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority (NBCJMA, aka Newtown Sewer Authority) Board, Newtown Twp resident John Mack commented on the land sale offer related to the property that was originally acquired to build a treatment plant, the plans for which are now abandoned.
Mack noted that the 90-day period during which the original owners could repurchase the land for $11.5 million - the price the Authority paid for the land in an eminent domain takeover - has been exceeded.
The NBCJMA solicitor confirmed that the previous owners did not accept the $11.5 million offer. Consequently, the Authority has "moved forward to ask the court for permission to sell the property."
In response to this, Mack suggested that rather than selling the land to developers, the authority should donate the property to the township so it can be preserved permanently as open space. Listen to Mack’s comments and Authority response:
According to PA’s Eminent Domain Law (26 Pa.C.S.A. § 310), if the condemnee does not buy it back, the property cannot be sold for a nonpublic use within 21 years of the original taking. The resale restrictions may not apply if the property is transferred to another government agency for public use.
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