Just in time for Halloween on 27 October 2024, the “scary” Proposed 2025 #NewtownPA Budget was “hung” (i.e., advertised in the Bucks County Courier Times).
What makes the budget scary is the “budgetary maneuvering” of fund transfers, the terrible formatting, which makes it difficult to read and compare with previous budgets, the declining revenue and increasing deficit, the explicitly-stated need for increased taxes, and the double-digit salary increases! All this was already documented in comments made by residents. This article discusses some of these questions that need answers and some suggestions for changes.
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John Mack's Insights:
I'd like to know YOUR opinion! Feel free to email me your comments before the 13 November 2024 BOS meeting: john@johnmacknewtown.info. You can also email township officials and/or supervisors. Please visit the Township Directory for those email addresses.
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Why did Newtown Township residents Al Dufault & Charles Feuer cross Newtown-Yardley Road? They wanted to show the need for a new sidewalk along Newtown-Yardley Road leading from the crosswalk at Tara Boulevard to Elm Street in Newtown Borough.
At the October 23, 2024, Newtown Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, Mr. Feuer got a commitment from the Township Engineer - and consensus of the BOS - to see if it possible to modify the Newtown Commons Sidewalk Project Plan to include this stretch to connect the township with the borough as part of the Newtown Trail.
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John Mack’s Insights:
A resident on FB said: "Maybe when the no cell phone law goes into place next year this would help. So many people on their phones looking at the screen and driving." Yes, I mentioned that while walking with Al Dufault & Charles Feuer along Newtown-Yardley Road in this video. They wanted to show the need for a new sidewalk along the stretch of that road from the crosswalk at Tara Boulevard to Elm Street in Newtown Borough.
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The State Senator Steve Santarsiero and Representative Perry Warren announced the award of a $999,979 Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Local Share Account (LSA)-grant for construction of a pedestrian bridge across Newtown Creek.
Newtown Township, in cooperation with Newtown Borough will build a new pedestrian bridge over the Newtown Creek, bridging the two municipalities at North Sycamore Street at Durham Road in Newtown Township and Frost Lane in Newtown Borough. This bridge will serve as a connection on an existing trail network.
“The addition of a pedestrian bridge over Newtown Creek will not only bridge two municipalities together, but will improve our local and regional trail connectivity,” said Senator Santarsiero.
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The Newtown Board of Supervisors can enact an ordinance authorizing the levy of up to 10 mills of fire tax annually and up to 5 mills of emergency services tax annually without specifying the actual tax rate. The actual tax rate, however, for each given year would be decided by the Board during its year-end budgeting process.
Should Newtown Township authorize this new limit in Fire and EMS Services Tax? And if it does, should it actually increase these taxes and by how much? I hosted a survey, which asked residents what they thought.
A summary of the survey results to date is presented here...
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Although the township is making progress dealing with pedestrian safety issues, many residents feel enough is not being done.
A big concern of residents is about cars speeding while cutting through residential neighborhoods such as Woods of Saxony and Country Bend. As far as I can see from Newtown Traffic Citations issued from January through August 2024, very few speeding citations were issued within residential neighborhoods except for one or two cases. And none have been issued in Country Bend or Woods of Saxony – the two communities where residents have recently complained to me about traffic cutting through the neighborhood.
What more can be done? Find out here...
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If you are a resident of Newtown Township or Newtown Borough, you probably received a NOTICE via email from the Newtown Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority, aka Newtown Sewer Authority, which states “The Newtown, Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority (Authority) is actively pursuing construction of our own wastewater treatment facility.”
The REAL shocker, however, is the RATE INCREASE!
More about that here...
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Further Notes:
“I think it's 'criminal' for the Newtown Sewer Authority to do this without notifying us in advance so we could have organized to defeat this 46% increase. The BCWSA was a much better plan” – email from resident Bill D. WHAT DO YOU THINK? TAKE MY SURVEY!
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Recently, a notice of sign violation was sent to the owners of the Village at Newtown South, citing 17 stores, including the Newtown Bookshop, that are in violation of Newtown Township’s signage ordinance Section 1106(H)(4)(A) of the JMZO, which states "No more than one sign shall be erected for any establishment unless such establishment has a facade and/or an entrance on more than one street…”
More - including list of 17 violators - here...
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