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A special meeting of the Doylestown Township
Board of Supervisors was held at 7:10 p.m. on Thursday, December
28, 2006, at the Doylestown Township Municipal Building, 425
Wells Road, Doylestown, PA. Members of the Board of Supervisors
in attendance included Walter C. Berry, Chairman, E. Thomas
Scarborough, Jr., Vice Chairman, Barbara Eisenhardt, Barbara
Lyons and Cynthia Philo. Others in attendance included Jeffrey
Garton, Township Solicitor, Chief Stephen White, Chief of Police
and Stephanie Mason, Township Manager.
Pledge to the Flag: The meeting opened with a
pledge to the flag.
Audio Taping of Meeting: Mr. Berry announced
that Ms. Eisenhardt would be audio taping the meeting.
Executive Session: Mr. Berry announced that the
Board of Supervisors met in Executive Session to discuss a
personnel matter for approximately 30 minutes and no action
would be taken at this meeting.
Announcements:
The Doylestown Township Administration offices
will be closed on Monday, January 1, 2007 due to New Year’s Day.
The next meeting of the Board of Supervisors will
be held on Tuesday, January 2, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
(Reorganization)
Doylestown Township Auditor's Reorganization
meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 3, 2007 at 7:00 pm.
The Doylestown Township Administration offices
will be closed on Monday, January 15, 2007 in observance of
Martin Luther King’s Birthday.
Visitors/Public Comment: Ernie Gash referred to
discussions held concerning curtailing costs by having
advertisements in the Township’s newsletter. He mentioned that
during his employment with the Central Bucks East High School
the school used a firm that collected money for inserting
persons names in various programs and the firm contributed 95%
of the total money collected back to the school. He suggested
that the Board investigate the possibility of using such a firm
to defray the costs associated with the publication of the
Township’s newsletter and using the funds allocated for the
newsletter for another purpose.
He also thanked the Board for inviting him to participate in the
holiday dinner.
Supervisors’ Comments: Ms. Eisenhardt explained that a public
hearing on the Route 202 (Section 700) will be held on February
28, 2007 at Lenape Middle School starting at 5:00 p.m. where the
proposed project will be on display followed at 5:30 p.m. with a
public hearing. She explained further that oral and written
testimony can be sent to PennDOT.
Ms. Eisenhardt referred the Board to the section of the Second
Class Township Code which states that the receipt of an audit by
the Township is required prior to any funding being disbursed to
the Volunteer Fire Company. A discussion followed concerning
this issue and the Board recognized that an actual formal audit
could not be received in time to fund the fire companies for the
year. After further discussion the Board directed that a
written list of expenditures must be received by the Township
prior to any funds being disbursed to a volunteer fire company
that services the Township and that the Township will send a
letter to the fire companies explaining this and enclosing a
copy of the Second Class Township Code that references the
requirement.
NEW BUSINESS:
2007 Final Budget: Mr. Scarborough commented
that he is concerned with the Township using surplus funds to
balance this year’s budget and that the Township will be in a
similar position at the end of 2007. He also said that he
believes there is “fluff” in this budget that could be
eliminated. He said that he would have liked to see 5% cut out
of each line item for the 2007 budget. Mr. Scarborough also
asked that the Board be involved prior to any new person being
hired to work for the Township and if a policy change is needed
to implement this procedure that it be done.
Ms. Eisenhardt asked that the Board consider
looking at using advertisements as a way of eliminating the cost
of the production of the Township’s newsletter.
After discussion, on motion of Ms. Lyons,
seconded by Ms. Philo, the Board of Supervisors approved the
2007 Budget by a vote of 4 to 1 with Mr. Scarborough voting
against.
Elimination of Police Contributions to Pension
Plan for 2007: After discussion, on motion of Ms. Lyons,
seconded by Ms. Eisenhardt, the Board of Supervisors approved
the execution of Resolution 1336A, Elimination of Police
Contributions to Pension Plan for 2007.
Fixing the Tax Rate for the Fiscal Year Ending
December 31, 2007: After discussion, on motion of Ms.
Eisenhardt, seconded by Ms. Lyons, the Board of Supervisors
approved the execution of Resolution 1337 fixing the tax rate
for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2007.
Announcements:
The Doylestown Township Administration offices will be closed on
Monday, January 1, 2007 due to New Year’s Day.
The next meeting of the Board of Supervisors will
be held on Tuesday, January 2, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
(Reorganization)
Doylestown Township Auditor's Reorganization
meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 3, 2007 at 7:00 pm.
The Doylestown Township Administration offices
will be closed on Monday, January 15, 2007 in observance of
Martin Luther King’s Birthday.
Adjournment:
There being no further business to come before the regular
meeting, the Board of Supervisors meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Stephanie J. Mason |
Authored by Development Solutions