The West Easton budget isn’t ready.
Not from what I heard last night and Councilman Dan DePaul is asking questions that need to be asked.
He noted a couple of things that peaked my interest, as it should every resident of West Easton.
The main one is carry-over money from last year isn’t shown on the new budget and nobody has an answer of exactly how much money still exists from this year, for next year. Normally, the Finance Committee Chairperson would be able to answer that, but he wasn’t present. In all likelihood, even he wouldn’t have an answer. If he did, it would have been on the budget he submitted for presentation last night by Councilman Nodoline.
There was no Treasurer’s Report because our new treasurer is busy trying to build a data base for Treasurer reports that haven’t existed since 2009, according to Council President, Kelly Gross.
Councilman Dan DePaul raised the fact that with a 2.2 mill tax increase, the savings from not paying for police coverage, and a carryover, West Easton could be in a position to offer some type of rebate to residents.
Mayor Gross called it “Fool’s Gold.”
According to Mayor Gross, much of that money will be used for line items found in the budget.
DePaul also noted that total amounts of CD’s held by West Easton were missing from the budget. Everyone looked for it, but it couldn’t be found. I was reminded of deer caught in the headlights.
Will the budget be corrected by January 1st? It seems to be little more than guesswork at this point.
Mayor Gross says it will, but in the meantime, by law, this budget will be advertised for public viewing. It has to be if some type of budget is to be approved in time.
And don’t count on any rebate. If there is any extra money it will likely go into the general fund for next year, or somebody will find some way to spend it.
The goal, it seems, is to pay more now so bragging rights can be had if we don’t pay more in taxes next year. An election year for some of those on council. They are even wording the tax increase in a way to say that, “It is remaining the same as last year.” That makes it so much easier to swallow.
But God forbid a few thousand dollars be used toward alleviating some of the tax burden placed on senior citizens below the age of 65. Councilman Nodoline has refused to even broach the subject that he was so adamant about, but suddenly backed away from. New vehicles, new equipment, and a new garage for his road department are more important than elderly taxpayers.
The video is below. The budget conversation starts at about 35 minutes into the meeting.
Disclaimer: On January 4, 2016, the owner of WestEastonPA.com began serving on the West Easton Council following an election. Postings and all content found on this website are the opinions of Matthew A. Dees and may not necessarily represent the opinion of the governing body for The Borough of West Easton.
