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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Bethlehem Township's Christmas Present - No Tax Hike!

Andrew Freda
Bethlehem Township residents will see no tax hike next year, thanks to a 2013 Budget approved by Commissioners at their December 17 meeting. At $16.2 million, the budget retains a 5.99 millage rate, which means a home assessed at $75,000 will be taxed $449.25.

Michael Hudak is the sole Commissioner who voted No. He declined to explain his opposition. The budget includes two new patrolman and a Captain in the police department, and Hudak has historically opposed increased spending there.

In other business, Commissioners approved what amounts to a 2.5% fee increase its engineering firm, the Pidcock Company.

Martin Zawarski is the sole Commissioner who opposed the increase. Two weeks before, he had complained about a fee increase in a bad economy, but Commissioner Tom Nolan argued that Pidcock's fee requests are in line with those charge by other engineering firms.

Judy Todaro
Commissioners also said good-bye to Judy Todaro, who has been employed by the Township over the past twenty-five years. "No two days are the same," she said, explaining why she liked working for the Township. As Executive Assistant to the Township Manager, she took the minutes to every meeting. She's looking forward to being a full-time grandmother, but tears were in her eyes as she left her final meeting.

Judy is camera-shy and begged me not to take her picture. So I searched the Internet for a look-alike.

Township Commissioners will meet again on Monday, January 7, at 7 PM, at the Municipal Building located at 4225 Easton Avenue.

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12 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 18, 2012 at 9:07 AM

    So Hudak votes no and has no comment?

    2 more coppers, how many does the Twp have and on average, how many are needed?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bernie O'HareDecember 18, 2012 at 9:13 AM

    He did not explain his vote. I did not ask. I surmise it is the PD. It could be something else. I don't know the size of the BT police department but will find out.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 18, 2012 at 9:54 AM

    Just texte my buddy who works there. They have 31 officers, only 19 of which are actual patrol (the othrs are suervisors and investigators and dare). He said that a typical night, there is only two patrol officers on duty. Time for hudak to get his head out of his ass and recognize that the town is growing up around him and without him and his archeic thiniing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousDecember 18, 2012 at 1:01 PM

    I doubt that there are only 2 on duty at night.

    I would hope that to be true because we don't need to have them on duty pulling people over for rolling through a stop sign in a residential neighborhood at 2 in the morning... or Sunday morning when heading out to a church service. Yes, I was one of them!

    The Twp is not growing, pretty much maxed out except for the insane area of Freemansburg Ave & Rt 33. The traffic patterns are the worst in the area will only get worse!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bernie O'HareDecember 18, 2012 at 2:57 PM

    Just a word of caution. Hudak did not say WHY he voted against the budget and I failed to ask him. I surmise it is the PD, but do not know that for certain.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousDecember 18, 2012 at 4:39 PM

    Don't go through stop signs... Don't get tickets. Grudge much?

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousDecember 18, 2012 at 7:09 PM

    @4:39 piss off, you've never rolled through a stop sign in your neighborhood?

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousDecember 18, 2012 at 7:37 PM

    Finally a local Township that gets it. They live within their means. These guys are good. The school districts, cities and counties should hire these guys.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paul KerseyDecember 18, 2012 at 8:39 PM

      Yeah they get it. When they have to pay for a paid fire department like cities do then we'll see how easily they can keep taxes flat.

      Delete
  9. AnonymousDecember 19, 2012 at 8:43 AM

    They could really save the taxpayers if they would rid themselves of the community center that is costing them untold thousands of dollars...

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousDecember 19, 2012 at 10:18 AM

    @4:39 piss off, you've never rolled through a stop sign in your neighborhood?

    No, I haven't. You probably jump your turn at a 4-way too.

    ReplyDelete
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