Joyce Ferguson Snyder.
(The following is an op-ed from Towamencin Township Supervisor Joyce F. Snyder. The views expressed within are her own.)
Dear Neighbors,
By now most of you are aware that Towamencin Township intends to sell its municipal sewer system. What you may not know is that this past Wednesday, the board authorized the township solicitor to change the Asset Purchase Agreement so that another company will be the purchaser. Next Era will withdraw, and Pennsylvania American Water will replace them. Of course, it is slightly more complicated than that, but that is a quick and easy version of what has happened. Members of the community present at last week’s meeting asked the board to consider starting the process over, so that other bidders might have a chance. Some in the community are concerned that by bypassing the bidding process, the township may be opening itself to litigation from the other bidders.
Members of the Towamencin Board of Supervisors and others have said that our township needs cash to meet its current needs. I do not disagree. However, there are other ways to obtain cash than to sell a municipal asset and ask the taxpayers to pay back the loan in perpetuity. One option would be to take out a loan. This would give us an infusion of dollars quickly and there would be a definite end date for the obligation.
Another revenue stream would be to increase taxes. No one gets up in the morning and says, “I want to pay more taxes today!” But at the same time, wouldn’t you rather pay taxes to your local municipal government than to pay rates to a for-profit company who is really only looking out for their shareholders?
What bothers me most about this entire exercise is that not once have I learned exactly what the financial needs of the township are (I acknowledge that there are some very expensive needs in our township, but I don’t have the numbers) and how various solutions would affect the taxpayers/ratepayers of Towamencin. I would have loved to have learned that we need “X million” to fund our police department because they are understaffed, and the anticipated costs of keeping the sewer up to date is “Y million” and that anticipated cost of upcoming costs of stormwater mitigation are “Z million.” Then I would have liked to know how much of a loan would have been needed to underwrite those needs, and how much taxes would have to be increased to pay the loan off.
I feel that the other supervisors are short sighted by only looking at selling the sewer to manage the financial needs of our township, rather than exploring all the options available.
Speaking of taxes, I want to remind everyone reading this that the Government Study Commission (GSC)/Home Rule Charter is not able to raise taxes. The ability to levy taxes will always reside with the Board of Supervisors. What they do have the power to do is raise the tax limit, but that is not included in the charter that GSC submitted and upon which we will vote in May.
I acknowledge that I am partisan around this issue, as I have made my opposition to the sewer sale very clear, but that does not negate the fact that the NOPE slate were very transparent about why they were running for GSC seats and what their agenda was. Sixty percent of the voters agreed to start the government study and the NOPE slate won all seven seats. I do not understand the outrage when the GSC continues to do exactly what they said they would do.
I am sure that this letter will not change any minds, but I could not sit in silence as our township makes what I view as a mistake which can never be rectified.
Sincerely,
Joyce F. Snyder
Supervisor, Towamencin Township
See also:
Towamencin Home Rule Charter Headed to Ballot in May Primary
Group of Residents Voice Issues with Towamencin Government Study Commission’s Speed and Processes
Submission: Towamencin Government Study Commission Update
