Comments for Franklin Township

Comment on 2010 September Board of Supervisors Meeting by Leif Winter

Leif Winter — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:44:49 +0000

Due to an injury, I couldn’t make it to the March meeting. Where are the minutes to the previous meetings. People are wondering why the website its not working. Thank you, Leif Winter

Comment on House Bill 2431 by admin

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:47:54 +0000

If the proposed restructuring of PA government would indeed result in lower taxes, and/or more and better services for the same tax dollars, I would be all for it too. However, I’m not convinced that would be the be the case.

First of all, none of these changes would have any bearing on the School taxes – those are completely separate. Second, there are very few overlapping services or duties between the townships and the county, so the county would be taking on a tremendous amount of additional work – not to mention additional equipment and personnel. Finally, anyone who has spent any time working with government entities can attest that the bigger the governmental body, the less efficiently/cost effectively it is run.

One other disadvantage is a loss of local control. Townships represent and are responsible to a relatively small group of people. The bigger the government entity, the less direct control you, as an individual or small group, can exert over it.

Comment on House Bill 2431 by William Kautz

William Kautz — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:26:07 +0000

I agree wholeheartedly with House Bill #2431. Since moving here in 2008 I’ve found property taxes to be a lot more than I was paying in Baltimore County, Md. with far fewer services than I received there. In fact, my local school tax in 2009 was several hundred dollars more than my entire Baltimore Co. property tax bill. On top of that there’s the local county tax of another $1000. Since I have to pay extra for trash removal that’s like a “hidden” tax since trash removal was paid by my Baltimore Co. taxes. So far, everyone I’ve asked here has said they would rather pay lower taxes and have a county government rather than the townships that now provide fewer services and charge a much higher tax rate. Nobody wants to pay higher taxes! This is especially true with those of us who are retired and have a more fixed income. As for the old adage, “This is how we’ve always done it!”, look at what happened to the American auto industry as an example. They didn’t want to change in the face of better foreign cars coming onto the market. Now where are they? Scrambling to catch up with the times! It should also be obvious that any materials or services are cheaper when buying in bulk or covering a large area. Which would be cheaper per ton, 5 tons of road salt or 100 tons? Insuring 10 people or insuring 200 people? It’s all in the numbers.
Thank you for taking the time to read this comment. I welcome any feedback.

Comment on Shale Gas Costing 2/3 Less Than OPEC Oil Incites Water Concern by Leif Winter

Leif Winter — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:20:49 +0000

Gaslands, will show tomorrow, Tuesday the 8th at the Montrose Theatre. It is a movie about the natural gas industry. It will show twice tomorrow.

Comment on Legislation Would Force Municipalities To Pay for State Police Coverage by HERB FLAVELL

HERB FLAVELL — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:23:00 +0000

WE ALREADY PAY FOR STATE POLICE PROTECTION. ITS CALLED INCOME TAX AND SALES TAX.

Comment on Pipeline Informational Meeting by herb1013

herb1013 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:57:17 +0000

I’m curious to know the proposed route of this pipeline.

Comment on Police in Franklin Township by admin

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:13:51 +0000

Yes – the supervisors actions should be representative of the majority of the constituents. Resolutions that affect the township’s budget should (by law) be advertised and deliberated publically, so that all the residents are informed of the proposed action and have an opportunity to voice their opinion – not just the handful of folks that attend the monthly supervisors’ meeting.

Comment on Police in Franklin Township by thegamerb

thegamerb — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:26:50 +0000

Aren’t Supervisors elected to make decisions in the best interests of all of the their constituants and not just a vocal minority? Isn’t police protection a fundemental concept of local government? I especially like the part where it says “majority of residents in attendance.” I’m glad that the author specified “in attendance.” I believe there are over 900 people in the township. 30+ people “in attendance” and 70+ people in a group, a majority it is not.

Comment on Police in Franklin Township by Leif Winter

Leif Winter — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:37:34 +0000

Never good when a supervisor says “You people”…

Also, their decision was to be expected, kind of a last hurrah type thing. And it was typical politics: two supervisors met without inviting the third to be a part of the decision. When I vote for supervisor, I expect them to come together to make decisions, even if there is a difference of opinion. I don’t care if they don’t see eye to eye. On a major decision, truly communicative supervisors would sit down together. They don’t have to agree, but they have to agree to act as a team.

And, shouldn’t any township official have the guts to establish their own term limits? A couple decades is too much, for anyone. Darn lifetime politicians.