Council Meeting - Monday 1/4/2010

2010 - wow -- it seems so strange writing 2010. In any event, enough rambling. Don't forget, tomorrow night, Monday, 1/4/2010 is our monthly Council Meeting. It begins at 7:30PM at the Borough Hall.

The meeting will open with the swearing in of newly elected councilwoman Hazel DeReamus, and the swearing in of Bob Hayes and Mike Racz, who were re-elected to new four year terms.

We will then begin the reorganization - a new council president and vice president will be nominated, and then we will begin the re-appointment of all the other folks who take care of us - solicitor, secretary, treasurer, engineer, road foreman, etc.

Following that, it's business as usual.

I hope to see you at tomorrow night's meeting. If you don't attend any others, please come and show your support for the folks who YOU recently elected, and witness their swearing in.

Happy New Year! Here's to a great 2010 (and beyond) for Tatamy!

Happy New Year Everyone!

It's hard to believe that 2009 is drawing to a close and that 2010 is now less than two hours away.

Thanks, as always for the emails, comments and suggestions, and keep them coming next year.

Monday night's council meeting starts at 7:30PM. A few things worth noting:

1. Council reorganizes at this meeting. A new president and vice-president will be appointed, along with the confirmation, or reconfirmation of the various appointments (secretary, treasurer, solicitor, engineer, etc.).

2. We welcome to the Council table Hazel DeReamus who won a seat on Council this past November. Hazel brings to council a world of experience in the area of finance and finance administration, having been the local tax collector (both real estate and earned income tax) for many many years. Hazel is a great addition to council and I look forward to working with her.

3. Returning to the table this year having been reelected to a second term is Bob Hayes. Returning for what I believe is a third term is Mike Racz. Welcome back guys and congratulations (again) on your win.

4. Sadly, not returning to the table is outgoing Council President Bob Fisher who lost his bid for reelection this past November. Bob served many many years on Borough Council. Thanks for everything that you've done over the years Bob. Bob's not going too far - he's accepted a position with the Tatamy Borough Sewer Authority.

I understand that a lot of you are upset over the fees that we have been billed for the trash pick-up. Unfortunately, we're three years into a five-year contract. Next year I hope that we will be looking at many other options for trash pickup to hopefully manage the cost and bring it down to a more manageable level. I will say, however, that the amount of money that we pay (about $350/year) is in line with what a lot of other folks around the area are paying. The one benefit that we Tatamy residents have over those other folks is that we can literally put almost ANYTHING out at the curb and the trash hauler will take it. The other folks can't. Most haulers won't accept yard waste any longer. That's something that will seriously need to be considered when contract negotiations begin again. Do we want to pay to have the ability to put anything on the curb? Do we want to pay a reduced rate and only be restricted to certain items? How about a "per-bin" rate (e.g. we supply you with a bin and if it fits in the bin, we'll take it, but anything extra you have to pay for). These are things that will need to be considered, and I will be asking for your input.

Thanks once again for your valued support over the past year, and, on behalf of my children and I, our best wishes for a Happy, Healthy, Safe and Prosperous 2010. I look forward to working FOR you in the coming year.

Here's my son Jordan, and Tax Collector John Nadolski's son John on their mountain of snow on my front lawn following last week's snowfall. Thought I'd share this.



Happy New Year everyone!

Bread and Milk Alert (oh, and please move your car)

It's looking like a true Bread and Milk Alert is in full force. Our friends at AccuWeather and the National Weather Service are predicting a measurable snowfall tomorrow into Sunday.

As a friendly reminder, please make sure that you remove your cars from the Snow Emergency Routes to allow our road crew to do their job and clear the snow.

Send me your snow photos. I'll share them here.

Be safe!

Council Roundup - 12/7/2009 Meeting

It certainly was a long night last night. Here's the highlights:

Rental Property Inspection Program: After much debate, Council passed the Rental Property Inspection Program - there were two dissenting votes (Bill Kiefer and myself). While I think it's a good program, I personally don't think that the borough is ready for it just yet. Having said that, I would like to thank Dale Fern, Pam Pearson, Adolph Marth and the remaining members of the committee for all their hard work and dedication that was required to put together the program, and I truly hope it's successful. There will be a public hearing scheduled at some point in the (hopefully) not too distant future with the committee, the inspector that the borough has hired and the landlords (and tenants I suppose) to review the program in its entirety, and answer any questions that folks may have. As soon as I get the date, I'll post it here for you.


Resolution authorizing Tax and Revenue Anticipation Note: Council approved the borrowing of $100,000 from the Tatamy Borough Sewer Authority. The funds will be used to cover cash flow needs until the tax money comes due in April (hence Tax and Revenue Anticipation). The note will be payable, in full, in June of 2010 in the amount of $100,500.

Everything else on the agenda below was discussed and approved, to include the 2nd reading of the 2010 Operating Budget. So far, no tax increase.

The final budget reading (and approval) will take place on Monday, December 21, 2009 at 7:30PM at the Municipal Building.

There you go folks! Have a great day!

Borough Council Agenda - 12/7/2009

The following items are on the agenda for tonight's Borough Council Meeting:

Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance

Roll Call

Approval of November 2, 2009 Council Meeting Minutes

Treasurer's Report and Approval of Receipts and Disbursements

Planning and Zoning - Discuss tentative administrative program for Rental Inspection Program

Engineer's Report - Discuss traffic signal installation

Solicitor's Report
1) Resolution authorizing Tax and Revenue Anticipation Note
2) Discuss raising Borough Council President's Compensation
3) Motion from Council to pass "Residential Rental Housing Licensing and Inspection System" Ordinance and adopting the "International Property Maintenance Code".

Old Business
1. Establish an Emergency Management Committee
2. Motion to approve the 2008 Audit
3. Motion to approve final payment of $269.79 (plus accrued current interest) in Tatamy Hunt Escrow Account and close the Tatamy Hunt Escrow Account

New Business
1. Approve payment of sewer bill, refuse bill and fuel bill from the Special Relief Fund for the Special Needs of a Tatamy Resident
2. Request from the Nazareth Rotary to use Braden Park in August 2010
3. Budget Committee suggests closing the following accounts and depositing the funds (plus any current accrued interest) into a checking or savings account:
- Rails to Trails: $15.60
- Grant Money (Dirt/Gravel): $28.25
- Truck Fund: $122.97
4. Request from Chrin Brothers in support of their Landfill Renewal Application

Also included:

Comments from the Floor

Police Committee Report

Mayor's Report

Sewer Authority

Correspondence

2010 Budget - 2nd Reading

Reminder - council meets tonight at 7:30PM at the Municipal Building - 423 Broad Street. See you there!