Lower Merion Citizens for Responsible Budgeting (CRB)
Can't Control Debt Until Spending is Controlled.
July 13, 2010
Brian Riedl - WSJ.com
Entitlements and other obligations are driving the deficits. Specifically, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and net interest costs are projected to rise by 5.4% of GDP between 2008 and 2020. The Bush tax cuts are a convenient scapegoat for past and future budget woes. But it is the dramatic upward arc of federal spending that is the root of the problem.
Manos Wants Green Resolution Discussed in Secret
June 16 , 2010
Audrey Romasco - Bryn Mawr
In objecting to the tabling of the resolution, Commissioner Brown referred to Commissioner Manos’ e-mail to the board, which sought to explain the withdrawal of the matter from the agenda, noting that he “wanted to talk to us in pre-board about it” to which Commissioner Manos responded, “Yes.” She also noted that he had indicated that he wanted discussion of the Green Resolution severed from the Vitetta Group Inc.’s estimate of the additional costs to the Bala Cynwyd Library. (The Vitetta Group Inc. indicated that the increased costs would be in the range of 10-14 percent.)
As Commissioner Brown pointed out, there is no basis under the Sunshine Act for an exemption that would allow discussion in a non-public session of the board.
- Read Opinion
Commissioners Just Can't Stop Violating Sunshine
April 29 , 2010
Commissioner Jenny Brown - Residents deserve Better - Read opinion
Audrey Romasco, Bryn Mawr - Challenging LMT's Closed Meetings - Read opinion
David O'Connell -LMCRB.org -
Mr. Reed, stop the insanity; open the meetings to the public. Even if you believe you are not violating the law you should cultivate public participation by opening meetings as a matter of good government policy. Let the people in. - Read Opinion
How to Tackle Government Labor Costs
April 29 , 2010
Gary Shilling - WSJ
Some governments are making service cuts, but these are wholly inadequate, and voters are fiercely resistant to tax increases. The inescapable conclusion: Labor costs, which at $1.1 trillion in 2008 account for half of state and local spending according to the Cato Institute, simply must come down.
In the private sector, defined-benefit pensions have declined over the years in favor of defined-contribution plans such as the 401(k). In 2009, defined-benefit plans were available to only 21% of private-sector workers—but to 84% of municipal employees, according to the Cato Institute. And public-sector defined-benefit plans paid retirees about twice as much as those in the private sector.
Public-sector retirement costs also are high because many can retire at age 55 after 30 years of employment with pensions equal to 60% or more of final salary, which is often jacked up by lots of overtime in final working years. In some states, employees can "double dip" by retiring early and then resuming their previous jobs or taking other government positions. So they get salaries and pensions at the same time.
Commissioners Are Still Violating the Sunshine Act
March 31 , 2010
Audrey Romasco - Mainline Times letter
Two weeks ago Lower Merion Commissioners Taylor, Rogan, McElhaney, Reed, Manos, Churchill, Lindner, Dellheim and Gordon submitted a letter to the Main Line Times defending closed pre-board meetings. This is the second attempt in the last seven months to convince the citizens of Lower Merion that it is reasonable that they are shut out of observing and participating in the governance of our town.
Does Ardmore really Need a $135,000 Gateway Fountain?
January 14, 2010
Susan Greenspon - Mainline Times
Couldn’t we save the plumbing costs for a fountain that might, at best, trickle water seven months of the year and whose soothing sounds will be drowned out by heavy traffic?
Lower Merion Commissioners Continue Illegal Pre-Board Deliberations
January 16, 2010
Audrey Romasco - Bryn Mawr
Within the course of the first three days of the year the leadership of the Board has unashamedly admitted, nay flaunted, their practice of ignoring the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act.
Unionized Municipal Employees Exempt from Heath Care Tax
January 16, 2010
WSJ.com
Ponder that one for a moment. Two workers who are identical in every respect—wages, job, health plan—will be treated differently by the tax system, based solely on union membership.
High Personel Costs Crushing Local Government
January 2 , 2010
Geoff Ficke - WSJ.com
The reason almost all government entities, federal, state and local, are strangling in debt is personnel costs ("Illinois Race Foils Bid to Balance Books," U.S. News, Jan. 4). Too much head count, too much compensation, and audacious benefit packages are choking the taxpayers and businesses that are saddled with the burden of covering profligate politicians and their pandering to public employee unions with onerous tax burdens.
Spending Should Be Reduced to Match Revenue
January 2 , 2010
WSJ.com
State revenues declined by more than 10% in 2009, and tax collections are expected to be flat at best in 2010. In Indiana, nominal revenues in 2011 may be lower than in 2006. Arizona's revenues are expected to be lower this year than they were in 2004. Some states don't expect to regain their 2007 revenue peak until 2012.
So when states should be reducing outlays to match a new normal of lower revenue collections, federal stimulus rules mean many states will have little choice but to raise taxes to meet their constitutional balanced budget requirements.
Audrey Romasco Remarks - December 16, 2009
December 16 , 2009
Your adoption of the CIP as presented will bake into the 2011 budget just under a $2M increase in debt service if we obtain the same favorable borrowing rates as last spring. That is the equivalent of a 9.26% tax increase on which there has been less discussion this year than on street parking regulations.
Are you aware that there is $2,316,000 in the CIP, in addition to the $570,000 in the General Budget, for engineering services most of which will not be bid? This doesn’t even include the libraries. Did you know, for example, that there is $35,000 in engineering services alone budgeted for a comfort station renovation, despite the fact that we presumably did the same engineering on the comfort station that was renovated in 2009? How many ways can we engineer a bathroom?
Read Complete Remarks - PDF
Audrey Romasco Remarks on Ludington Library Bid
December 2 , 2009
This evening you are considering awarding a bid for Ludington in the amount of $6,316,000. On the surface this looks compelling. However, the full cost of renovation, refurbishing and expansion of Ludington is $9,132,736 according to Ms. Steckel’s memorandum.
I would ask you to consider several issues.
First, the sum total, according to Ms. Steckel’s memo, exceeds the 2010 CIP by $1,079,736. Further, it must be assumed that most of the $9.132M is actual Township funds.
Read Complete Remarks - PDF
Lower Merion Stuck in Spiral of Increasing Personnel Costs
December 2 , 2009
Audrey Romasco - Board of Commissioners Meeting
Lower Merion is caught in a structural budget spiral of increasing personnel costs: not because we are adding to the numbers of employees, but because we are continually raising salaries even at a time when the private sector is stagnant and the Consumer Price Index is negative.
LM Board Can Pass a Zero Tax Increase Budget and Maintain Services
December 10 , 2009
By Charles Scott- Letter to the Editor, Mainline Times
Mr. Cleland’s budget proposes a modest tax increase to generate the approximately $1 million in revenue necessary to close the operating budget deficit, but it also envisions an ending fund balance at 17.1 percent of expenditures. This fund balance level is at the high end of the 15-18-percent range that was adopted by board policy as a guideline to help secure the township’s AAA bond rating. By instructing Mr. Cleland to reduce the fund balance to 15 percent of expenditures, the board can free up sufficient funds to close the deficit without the need for a tax increase or a service cut.
Questioning LM Libraries' Projects
December 2 , 2009
By Hugh Gordon- Letter to the Editor, Mainline Times
We can love our Lower Merion libraries and yet remain unconvinced that the proposed $20-million expansion and renovation project is the best use of that much taxpayer-borrowed money. A letter-writer in last week’s Main Line Times criticizes a commissioner for exercising independent judgment and voting against approving the bids for the $9.1-Ludington Library plan. This correspondent seems particularly troubled by the fact that “all but one of the other commissioners” were “overwhelmingly” in support of the project. (Not actually true; other commissioners also expressed reservations.) “Every commissioner has the right to ask questions, challenge budgets and ask for a cost-benefit analysis of services,” she writes, but apparently this principle only applies when the commissioners doing the challenging are in agreement with her views or with those of the “overwhelming” majority of the board.
Bruce Should Consider Citizens Time Before Ending Meetings
October 29, 2009
By Cheryl Allison - Mainline Times
The issue of agenda management for board of commissioners meetings has been a touchy one in Lower Merion, witness the recent nasty spat between board President Bruce Reed and member Jenny Brown.
So it is with some trepidation that I venture onto that rocky terrain again. Yes, I’ve had to weigh in before. No, I don’t like criticizing people I like and respect, and that means all 14 of you up there on the dais.
What occurred at a board meeting Wednesday night, however, cannot fly by without comment, like some particularly fast pitch.
Steady tax-revenue performance is not the problem
October 8, 2009
By David O'Connell - Lower Merion Citzens for Responsible Budgeting
Recently it has been suggested that property-tax rates should be raised to offset a decline in transfer taxes. In addition to various business taxes and property taxes (RET), Lower Merion Township assesses a 0.5-percent tax on the transfer of real estate in the township. At 8.23 percent of total tax revenue in 2008, realty transfer-tax (RTT) receipts are an important source of revenue used to fund township spending but they should not be viewed in a vacuum. Let’s take a closer look at the township’s total tax-revenue performance.
Spending and Borrowing Will Drive Taxes Much Higher
September 23, 2009
By Lower Merion Citzens for Responsible Budgeting
The township forecasts spending will rise to $62.3 million in the year 2012. That’s $10 million over its most recent estimate for 2009 spending, which would be a huge increase even in the best of times! Spending at these levels, and the taxes required to pay for it, just doesn’t work when taxpayer incomes are not increasing or in many cases falling.
Manos and Board are Breaking the Law
September 09, 2009
By Michael Berry, Wynnewood - Mr. Berry is an attorney specializing in media law
Last month Commissioner George Manos wrote a column about the current board’s compliance with the Sunshine Act. His column presented a series of “facts” to attempt to show that the board is “more transparent than it ever has been.” The problem, however, is Mr. Manos has his “facts” wrong and continues to defend a leadership that insists on breaking the law.
Manos is Wrong About Secrecy and Closed Meetings
August 12 , 2009
By Audrey Romasco- Bryn Mawr, Lower Merion Township
Yes, transparency in government is a valuable concept, but it is not a license for people to demonstrate lack of consideration for those who are trying to serve them, to get things done, and at the same time trying to act transparently, maintain order, keep records and enjoy some level of privacy — not secrecy, mind you, but privacy. Everyone is entitled to a reasonable opportunity to pursue or enjoy some measure of each of those.
Commissoner Manos Endorses Secret Meetings
August 5 , 2009
By George Manos - Commissioner for Ward 9, Bala Cynwyd,
Yes, transparency in government is a valuable concept, but it is not a license for people to demonstrate lack of consideration for those who are trying to serve them, to get things done, and at the same time trying to act transparently, maintain order, keep records and enjoy some level of privacy — not secrecy, mind you, but privacy. Everyone is entitled to a reasonable opportunity to pursue or enjoy some measure of each of those.
LM Taxpayers take a licking
July 30 , 2009
By Rosemary McDonough - Narberth
Lower Merion officials sure are having fun spending our tax dollars these days. Whether it’s the School Board hiring a $500/hour lawyer to defend their redistricting plan, or the Democratic township commissioners supporting an unsupportable “16-22-percent” tax increase, our leaders are spending money like the proverbial drunken sailor. All that’s missing are a few bawdy songs.
Open Government -The Way it Should Be - Mainline Times
July 9 , 2009
Hugh B. Gordon - Ardmore
The era of township government run behind closed doors by the executive committee of Davis, Manko, Ettelson and township manager is over. It’s strange that the point of view expressed in Cheryl Allison’s column last week should be controversial. It ought to be self-evident. Government officials naturally resent having their work subject to public scrutiny all the time — but that is the price you have to pay for enjoying a government of, by and for the people.
Lower Merion Taxpayers Will Fill The Gap, Again - Mainline Times
July 9 , 2009
Richard Kaufman - Bala Cynwyd
On July 1 some members of the Lower Merion Board of Commissioners telegraphed their openness to saddle taxpayers with the funding gap for the $17.6-million Ardmore “Revitalization” project. When will enough be enough for the forgotten Lower Merion taxpayer?
Ardmore “Revitalization” calls for a private developer to build residential housing, retail stores and parking on township-owned land. The first phase envisions an enormous eight-level parking garage and improvements to the train station. While state and federal grant monies have been secured to pay for a significant portion of the first phase, there remains an enormous funding gap.
Perspectives: Meeting requirements should be as clear as Sunshine
July 1 , 2009
Opinion - Cheryl Allison, Mainline Times
Lower Merion Township has been taking a bit of a beating in recent months on the openness of its governmental meetings.
Another sign of change, though, is that, when the board’s traditional summer retreat rolled around, a number of commissioners — and they were not all of one party — questioned whether it should take place, whether it should be open or closed, and what would be appropriate topics, if doors were shut.
In a conversation after that meeting, Commissioner Mark Taylor, who participated, mentioned that he felt that stories I have written on the open-meetings debate have been “somewhat biased.”
I don’t believe they have been. I think I have reported what has occurred, as citizens have raised the issue.
What I do believe is that it is an important issue. Confidence that they are being given a chance to hear and to be heard is vital to people's trust in their government.
Read opinion at Mainline Times
Let The Sun Shine In - Mainline Times
July 1 , 2009
Richard Kaufman - Bala Cynwyd
Several weeks ago a bipartisan group of Lower Merion commissioners tried unsuccessfully to open a scheduled June 22 board meeting, the so-called “retreat,” to the sunshine and to public scrutiny.
In her article last week, Cheryl Allison reported that all five Republican commissioners and four Democratic commissioners did not attend the meeting for various reasons. Good for them and for Lower Merion residents! Transparency is not a principle that can be espoused when expedient and ignored when inconvenient.
Government in the backroom serves the short-term interests of some politicians but never serves the public. It’s time for those commissioners who respect the public they represent to bring township government all the way out of the shadows, and into the sunshine — where it belongs.
Sunshine Letter to the Editor, May 7, 2009 - Mainline Times
May 8 , 2009
Donna Powell, Gladwyne
Unfortunately, while much progress has been made, too many decisions are still made in the back room. We, the citizens, need to continue to demand transparency and open government, and the best place to start is at the local level.
California or LM, Tactics are the same
May 8 , 2009
Peter Wolf - Lake Forest, Calif.
How can a state with 28% growth in state employees and 80% growth in spending over the last decade be cutting to "the bone"?
It's an old trick in California to scare the public with the threat of reduced police and fire protection to get them to cave into more taxes. These scare tactics should be vehemently denounced by every citizen in California.
Read Complete Opinion
Sunshine Letters to the Editor, April 30, 2009 - Mainline Times
April 30 , 2009
Several Township residents write in support of Sunshine and open Meetings
Read letters at Mainline Times
Regarding Clowns for Open Government 4/23/09
April 30 , 2009
Michele von Plato
I write in response to Kenneth E. Davis’ slam of the Sunshine Movement and representative democracy.
How despicable to describe citizens who want to understand how their tax dollars are being spent as “clowns”. Ken seems oblivious to how important this is to most of us. I wonder how the five Commissioners who voted for open meetings feel about being called “naïfs”. Democracy sure can be inconvenient to those with agendas, especially lobbyists. It’s our money Ken; we have a right to know what you are doing with it.
Do the math: We’re spending more in LM
April 23, 2009
David O'Connell
Regarding the April 17, 2009 letter “Pennywise and pound-foolish,” the author identifies the recent bond issue as saving taxpayers $1.5 million in debt service. He is correct that the refunding portion ($20 million) will save substantial amounts in financing costs and the township manager has wisely taken advantage of this opportunity. Mrs. Brown endorsed the refunding; it’s the new money that is problematic.
The new money ($7 million) will add interest and principal payments to township expenses for 20 years. The annual payment is approximately $516,000, so over 20 years the township will repay the $7 million plus $3.5 million in interest. You have heard “Spend More, Save More” in advertising, yet you know when you do the math you aren’t saving more; you are spending more.
Sunshine is American Principal
April 9, 2009
Mainlinetimes - Commissioner Jenny Brown
Judging by the diversity and size of the group of residents who respectfully protested the closed Ad Hoc Budget Committee meeting last week, the Sunshine Movement in Lower Merion cannot be marginalized or dismissed. There were Democrats, Republicans, Independents, senior citizens, college students, at least one high-school student, men, women, residents from eastern, central and western Lower Merion, workers and retirees. What this diverse group obviously shared was a passion to improve the results of government for all, increase public participation and deepen public trust.
Read Complete Opinion
Sunshine is a Popular Issue
March 31 , 2009
Save Ardmore Coalition
When did local government stop being about the people? Audrey's desire for these meetings to be open is not only about CIP and budget issues, and neither was Radnor's school board records or Bashore stuff a single issue. These issues are symptoms of a larger problem: Openess and transparency in government. Another openess and transparency issue? The contrived meetings at odd times of day between Lower Merion and St. Joe's brokered by former commissioner and lobbyist Ken Davis, right?
Read Complete Opinion
Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant
March 30 , 2009
L. Gordon Crovitz - WSJ
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis had made the point that "sunlight is the best disinfectant," and the Securities Act of 1933 mandated the information that public companies would have to share. One indicator that disclosure was more important than regulatory power is that it wasn't until the following year that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was created.
Read Complete Opinion
Main Line Media Sunshine Opinion
March 11 , 2009
By Tom Murry
There is currently a controversy going on in Lower Merion where certain commissioners want to meet behind closed doors to discuss budget concerns. This ad-hoc committee wants to discuss certain problems and then bring its findings to the residents.
Like Radnor and Tredyffrin, Lower Merion is filled with residents who not only expect open government, but demand it, and one resident that brought this to our attention has vowed to fight the recent decision by the commissioners to keep this discussion behind closed doors.
Read Complete Opinion
Fight for the right to know
Pa. public officials cannot close meetings when it suits them. That's against the law.
March 17, 2009
By Michael Berry - Philly.com
An attorney with Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz
The Inquirer's "Heard in the Hall" feature recently included a stunning headline: "Council members hold private meeting to discuss public process." It reported that Philadelphia's City Council had met in secret to discuss whether to hold public budget meetings in the city's neighborhoods. Although the idea of meeting with people around the city is admirable, the decision to meet behind closed doors first threatened to undermine public confidence.
It was no isolated incident. The following week, Lower Merion's Board of Commissioners took the opposite approach: It met in public to discuss whether its budget committee should meet in private. Remarkably, the board's majority voted to bar the public from future budget committee meetings.
Read Complete CommentaryBipartisan Transparency Killed
March 11 , 2009
By Audrey Romasco
What could be more bipartisan than the issue of transparency? It promotes no value judgment one way or the other. An ordinance change? A budget enhancement? A budget reduction? Transparency cares not what side is taken, merely that it is done in the public eye.
Read Complete Opinion
Majority of Board chooses "secret" meetings
Feb. 20, 2009
By Audrey Romasco
“It is my experience that the most thoughtful and productive budgeting process involves an open and thorough exchange of opinions. I was seriously taken aback last week when I realized that the Ad Hoc Budget committee and the Ad Hoc CIP committee were constituted in such a manner to circumvent the presence of a quorum and thus open meeting laws."
I urge you to contact your individual commissioner and the Board as a whole and tell them to follow the Sunshine Act and open the Ad Hoc Committee meetings.
Lower Merion capital improvements collide with deep economic crisis
Jan. 21 , 2009
In December, months into the financial crisis, the Board of Commissioners approved a staggering capital improvement plan (a plan which the Township Manager has consistently cautioned is “aggressive”) which calls for more than $55 million in project spending, some paid for by grants, for the next two years alone. Discretionary projects include $24 million for existing libraries and $4 million for a two-mile recreation trail
Spending, Not Taxes Is the Real Issue
January 14, 2009
Property values are instrumental in determining the taxes on an individual home. However, to focus on property values and assessments to control tax increases misses the point ("Calls Grow to Cap Property Taxes," U.S. News, Jan. 5).
Ronald A. Medhurst
Port Orange, Fla.
New Jersey Is the Perfect Bad Example
Look here to see what high taxes do.
December 30, 2008
By William McGurn - WSJ
During the last recession, we began to feel the full weight of these burdens. Other states responded by cutting back on spending and getting their houses in order. Not New Jersey. Then-Gov. Jim McGreevey added to the burden by borrowing and spending and raising the corporate tax -- including the imposition of an alternative minimum tax on business. And we've been paying for these bad choices ever since.
Capital Improvement Program Overly Aggressive
In the next six years the CIP calls for Lower Merion to spend $155,061,000 on capital improvements
December 3 , 2008
Audrey Romasco
I note from the Five Year Forecast that debt service is expected to rise by 7.9%. In fact, debt service, driven by the CIP, is projected to be 14% in the 2009 budget alone. In spite of this line item being singled out as one of the three driving factors in a 2009 Budget increase, we are projecting “normal” $10M bond issuances for fiscal years through 2012.
Read Complete Remarks to Commissioners - 12/3/2008
Alice in Wonderland Approach to Spending Must End
November 14 , 2008
David O'Connell
More Commissioners must wake up to the carnage being wrought by the financial crisis. The Alice in Wonderland approach of the current Board majority is worsening the impact of the crisis on the residents of Lower Merion. The focus must be shifted to spending restraint and belt tightening rather than enormous spending and taxing
Read Full Letter To the Editor of Mainline life
Our Spendthrift States Don't Need A Bailout
Governors need to learn to use fat years to prepare for lean ones
November 17, 2008
Steve Malanda
Last year at this time, many governors and state legislators were imploring Congress to let them spend more money by expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Since the states share the cost of the program with Washington, the expansion would have allowed them to cover families with incomes up to 300% of the poverty level (more in some cases). It also would have meant hundreds of millions in additional state spending, and an estimated $24 billion in additional federal spending. President Bush vetoed the bill.
Taxes, Representation And Property Rights
November 10 , 2008
Sephen W. Reed, Pasadena, Calif.
Owners of real property are routinely denied the opportunity to vote concerning the assessment of taxes on their own property simply because they do not happen to live in the electoral jurisdiction where the property is located. While few would advocate a return to the former days when only property owner were permitted to vote, it is singularly unfair to deny property owners the right to vote on matters that directly affect their own property. That is real taxation without representation.
President Bruce Reed advocates for Larger RET increase
October 29th , 2008
For CRB, Michele von Plato
As a non-partisan organization, it is not CRB’s role to divide the Commissioners along party lines. However, when they divide themselves along party lines, it is in the public’s best interest to know.
We witnessed such a divide on October 22nd.
Voting in favor of the motion seeking a budget with no tax increase were: Jenny Brown(R), Lew Gould(R), Lance Rogers(R), Phil Rosenzweig(R), and Scott Zelov(R).
Voting against the motion for no tax increase: Jane Delheim(D); Brian Gordon(D); George Manos(D); Paul McElhenny(D); Maryam Phillips(D); Bruce Reed(D); and Liz Rogan(D).
Read Full Letter To the Editor of Mainline Life and Mainline Times
Moving Forward (CRB)
Sept. 4th , 2008
Lower Merion Township’s Board of Commissioners is preparing for its non-public budget “workshop” on September 24 and for public budget hearings later in the fall. At this critical time, it is important to review recent budget history. ..
By David O'Connell
Read Full Letter To the Editor of Mainline Life and Mainline Times
LMT's Triple A in danger (CRB)
July 16 , 2008
Identifying “options” to reduce Lower Merion Township spending is important; however, policymakers (the Board of Commissioners itself) clearly must also guide Township staff
By David O'Connell
Read Full Letter To the Editor of Mainline Life and Mainline Times
2004 Survey used as cover by Politicians (CRB)
June 30 , 2008
At the June 25, 2008, Lower Merion Township budget workshop, the Township’s 2004 Resident Survey (Available at the Township web site and www.lmcrb.org) made yet another appearance. .
By David O'Connell
Read Full Letter To the Editor of Mainline Life and Mainline Times
Sewer Rate Increase, June 2008 (CRB)
June 9 , 2008
Chalk another one up for unnecessary rate increases in Lower Merion Township – this time, the sewer rate.
By David O'Connell
Read Full Letter To the Editor of Mainline Life and Mainline Times
2008 Proposed Budget (CRB)
December 10 , 2007
Last week, Lower Merion Township held its second and final public hearing on the 2008 Proposed Budget. A vote is scheduled for ....
By Michele von Plato
Read Full Letter To the Editor of Mainline life
Open Records (CRB) 
September 12, 2007
Citizens for Responsible Budgeting “CRB” (www.lmcrb.org), read with interest your September 5 Editorial concerning the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association’s Open Records Challenge 2007 ....
By Michele von Plato
Read Full Letter To the Editor of Mainline life
Request for release of multi-year budget forecasts (CRB) 
August 29, 2007
Chalk up a win for closed government and record a loss for transparency. So far at least, Lower Merion taxpayers have come out on the losing end of another struggle over transparency in local government....
Read Full Letter To the Editor of Mainline life
Tax burden growing faster than other expense obligations (CRB)
August 14, 2007
According to the Wall Street Journal, the typical Family pays substantially more to the government than its combined mortgage, automobile and health insurance expenses. The article compares the tax and expense burden of the typical 70's family with one income, to the typical two-income 2000's family. Mr. Zywicki, the author of the article, continues with "Although income rose 75%, and expenditures for the mortgage, car and health insurance rose by even less than that, the tax bill increased by… a whopping 140%"
Although the article does not include property taxes, property taxes in general, have also been escalating much faster than core inflation. While municipal governments like to use a different price inflater (CPI-W )than is often cited for consumers, the problem persist that Lower Merion Township's expenses are growing faster than inflation and private sector wage increases. If the Township's budget continues to grow 5%-6% per year, one thing Lower Merion residents can count on, is property taxes rising much faster than wage increases.
Township's Budget expected to out spend revenue (CRB)
August 10, 2007
After several discussions and presentations by LMT's staff, CRB is convinced that the township's expenses will outpace revenue growth in the 2008 budget. Although the Township Manager and head of Finance have not directly answered our questions about a 2008 tax increase (The official response to date is "It is too early to say."), we have received comments about the townships "Systemic" revenue problems. ( Township Managers complete email response, Monday, June 18, 2007 )
With a 2007 budget that increased 5.3% and a tax increase of 2%, will this increase and systemic problem with revenue be repeated in the 2008 budget? Not likely. The current model which includes a budget increase of 5-6% in 2008, would most likely result in a more substantial tax increase of 6-8% in the 2008 budget.
The Systemic spending problem, not the revenue problem, is what will continue to require large tax increases. Without incentives for our staff, or goals by our staff to control spending, and the lack of guidance by the leadership of the Board of Commissioners, we can only conclude that the township will recommend the easiest revenue enhancer available to the township. That enhancer, is of course, a real estate tax increase.
Real cost containment has not been realized from reduction in unneeded services nor have better business practices been encouraged to streamline existing services. Although many options are available to a tax increase, the options have not been considered. Other than " rear yard" trash pickup, discussions about cost control have not been encouraged, and in the case of rear yard trash pickup, the conversation continues to return to increasing revenue.
Lower Merion's Township Manager Response to CRB's question about future tax increases
June 29, 2007
On May 29th, CRB and other citizens meet with township staff. At the beginning of the meeting, Mr. Cleland (Township Manger) stated that we could expect tax increases every year due to the nature of the revenue stream. For Mr. Cleland's complete email response to our question for clearification, please read…
Township Manager's complete email response, Monday, June 18th, 2007
Tax Debate, Letter to Main Line Life (CRB)
January 2007
CRB consistently argued that a tax increase was not needed, and therefore, was not justified for the 2007 Budget. Ultimately, the vote on Commissioner Rogers’ motion to eliminate the tax increase was lost. Commissioner Rogers is the BOC’s only registered Independent, and CRB was hopeful that his motion would bridge the partisan gap that had developed…
Reserves and Credit Rating Letter to Main Line Times (CRB)
January 18, 2007
“The most useful tool for evaluating credit risk is through examining the way [these] four key areas interact” (The Determinants of Municipal Credit Quality Government Finance Review, December 1999). A Moody’s representative recently confirmed that the 1999 article still reflects Moody’s methodology. The level of reserve is only one financial statistic used to evaluate the finances of a municipality and financial factors are only one of the four key areas considered. Therefore, a fixation on the level of reserves can be misleading, and most certainly did mislead a majority of Commissioners in the 2007 Budget discussion.