Behind the scenes in Hatfield

Last week Hatfield Township's police department earned a high honor - accreditation from the PA Chiefs of Police Association - and their board had plenty of praise for the police department.

They also took plenty of photos, and here's one that did not make the cut for my story: board President Tom Zipfel, standing at center left, trying to learn how to use the camera as township Manager Aaron Bibro, at left in the group of four, posed with police Chief Bill Tierney, Lt. Jane Robertson, and  PACPA program coordinator Dick Hammon who made the presentation. In case you've ever wondered what you don't see when those same old posed photos are taken, here's a glimpse!
Hatfield's commissioners approved several action items Jan. 27, including purchases of two new pickup trucks for the township Public Works department. Bibro and Zipfel both thanked Public Works Director John Wolff and his crews for their efforts in clearing local roads after snowstorms this past weekend. 12 public works employees plowed a total of 122 lane-miles and applied 132 tons of salt to local roads, according to Zipfel, who said he heard only minor complaints about damaged mailboxes after the storm.
“They worked pretty much nonstop from Friday to Sunday, and that’s a dedication that not a lot of people see today when they look at their workplace,” Zipfel said.
Our former photographer Geoff Patton was able to ride along with Hatfield's plow trucks during snowstorms in early 2014 - click here to see the view from inside one of those trucks.
Also approved by the board was a settlement appeal between a developer looking to build on a parcel near Welsh Road and their neighbors, which the township was party to during the appeal process. The settlement resulted in a slight shift in location of the new house to be built on the lot, and preservation of trees currently on the property, according to Bibro and planning and zoning officer Ken Amey.
The board also approved a financing application by Salus University through the North Penn Health, Hospital and Education Authortiy, which provides lending opportunities at tax-free, low interest rates. Approving the lending carries no cost to the township, according to Bibro, and fees generated by the financing could come back to Hatfield via grants awarded by the authority board.
Hatfield’s commissioners next meet at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 10 at the township administration building, 1950 School Road; for more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www.HatfieldTownship.org or follow @HatfieldPA on Twitter.

2016 calendars - UPDATED 1/12

It's that time of year again - more precisely, the end of one and the start of another. As we're right on the brink of 2016, our local municipalities are starting to line up their schedules of local meeting dates and times throughout the year. Most of our munis will pass 2016 calendars during their reorganization meetings on Jan. 4 and I'll update as we get those, but here are the ones we know so far:

LANSDALE BOROUGH
Council will keep a similar schedule as in 2015, with committee meetings starting at 7 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month and reporting back to council at 9 p.m., and a business meeting two weeks later on the third Wednesday.
Committees at 7 p.m., work sessions at 9 p.m.: February 3, March 2, April 6, May 4, June 1, July 6, August 3, September 7, October 5, November 2, December 7.
Business meeting at 7 p.m.: January 20, February 17, March 16, April 20, May 18, June 15, July 20, August 17, September 21, October 19, November 16, December 21.
Other Lansdale meetings:
- Planning Commission at 7:30 p.m. on third Monday of each month except in February (22nd instead of 15th)
- Economic Development Committee at 6:30 p.m. on third Monday of each month, except Feb. 22 instead of 15th
- Zoning hearing board at 7:30 p.m. on third Tuesday of each month
- Parking Authority at 7 p.m. on second Wednesday of each month
- Communication Commission on second Tuesday of the month, once per quarter - January 12, April 12, July 12, October 11.
All Lansdale meetings will be held at the borough municipal complex, 1 Vine Street; for details or agendas visit www.Lansdale.org or follow @LansdalePA on Twitter for more.

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP - UDPATED 1/12
Hatfield's commissioners held their reorganization meeting at 7 p.m. on Jan. 4, and have approved the following calendar of 2016 meeting dates and times.
All board meetings will be held at 7:30 p.m. on the following dates, at the township administration building, 1950 School Road:
Workshop meetings - Jan. 13, Feb. 10, March 9, April 13, May 11, June 8, July 13, Aug. 10, Sept. 14, Oct. 12, Nov. 2, Dec. 7.
Business meetings: Jan. 27, Feb. 24, March 23, April 27, May 25, June 22, July 27, Aug. 24, Sept. 28, Oct. 26, Nov. 16, Dec. 21.
The following boards and commissions will also meet at these dates and times:
Planning Commission - third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m.
Parks and Recreation board - first Monday of each month at 7 p.m.
Pool Advisory Board - second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.
Shade Tree Commission - third Monday of each month at 7 p.m.
Planning and Zoning committee - fourth Monday of each month at 9 a.m.
Environmental Advisory Committee - third Monday of even-numbered months at 6 p.m.
Hatfield's board and staff have also held a special meeting on Jan. 6 to discuss the plans to extend the Frick's Trail from a house near Line Lexington Road, west across Orvilla Road to connect with School Road Park. Hatfield's staff discussed the trail project during budget meetings over the past two months, and showed a video of what the current trail route looks like walking through the wilderness - start at 35 minutes in on the Nov. 18 video for details, and visit www.HatfieldTownship.org or follow @HatfieldPA on Twitter for more.

UPDATED 1/4
UPPER GWYNEDD TOWNSHIP
Upper Gwynedd's commissioners held their reorganization meetingon Jan. 4, and approved during their final meeting of 2015 the following schedule of meetings:
Workshop meetings at 7 p.m. on Jan. 19, Feb. 16, March 15, April 19, May 17, June 21, July 19, Aug. 16, Sept. 20, Oct. 18, Nov. 15, Dec. 13.
Business meetings at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 25, Feb. 22, March 28, April 25, May 23, June 27, July 25, Aug. 22, Sept. 26, Oct. 24, Nov. 21, Dec. 19.
The township's planning commission is scheduled to meet at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 5, Feb. 1, March 7, April 4, May 2, June 13, July 11, Aug. 1, Sept. 7, Oct. 5, Nov. 2, and Dec. 5.
The zoning hearing board meets at 7 p.m. on Jan. 26, Feb. 23, March 22, April 18, May 24, June 28, July 26, Aug. 23, Sept. 27, Oct, 25, Nov. 22 and Dec. 20.
Upper Gwynedd's Parks and Recreation board is slated to meet at 7 p.m. on Jan. 11, March 14, M ay 9, Aug. 8 (to plan to township summer carnival), Sept. 12, and Nov. 14.
The Police pension board meets at 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 17, May 18, Aug. 17 and Nov. 16.
The Nor-Gwyn Pool Commission is scheduled to meet at 7:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month: Jan. 21, Feb. 18, March 17, April 21, May 19, June 16, July 21, Aug. 18, Sept. 15, Oct. 20, Nov. 17, and Dec. 15.
All meetings will be held at the township administration building, 1 Parkside Place. For more information or meeting agendas and details visit www.UpperGwynedd.org.

MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP
Montgomery Township's supervisors will hold their reorganization meeting starting at 7 p.m. on Jan. 4, and on the agenda for that meeting is approval of a 2016 meeting schedule. Meetings will be held at 8 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of each month, with no Jan. 11 meeting due to Jan. 4 also serving as an action meeting night.
Subsequent board meetings will be held at 8 p.m. on: Jan. 25,  Feb. 8 and 22, March 14 and 18, April 11 and 25, May 9 and 23, June 13 and 27, July 11 and 25, August 8 and 22, September 12 and 26, October 11 and 24, November 14 and 28, and Dec. 12. All meetings will be held at the township administration building, 1001 Stump Road, except for the Jan. 4 reorganization meeting at the new township community and recreation center just across the street at 1030 Horsham Road. For more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www.MontgomeryTwp.org or follow @MontTwp on Twitter.

UPDATE 1/7
TOWAMENCIN TOWNSHIP
Towamencin's supervisors have approved the following 2016 meeting schedule, with all meetings to be held at 7:30 p.m. at the township administration building, 1090 Troxel Road:
Work sessions - Jan. 13, Feb. 10, March 9, April 13, May 11, June 8, July 13, Aug. 10, Sept. 14, Oct. 12, Nov. 9, Dec. 14.
Business meetings: Jan. 27, Feb. 24, March 23, April 27, May 25, June 22, July 27, Aug. 24, Sept. 28, Oct. 26, Nov. 22 *Tuesday due to Thanksgiving holiday* and Dec. 28.

NORTH WALES BOROUGH
Borough council has approved a 2016 meeting schedule with council meetings held at 7 p.m. at the borough municipal building, 300 School Street, on the following dates:
Jan. 12 and 26, Feb. 9 and 23, March 8 and 22, April 12 and 19 *moved due to primary election*; May 10 and 24, June 14 and 28, July 12 and 26, Aug. 9 and 23, Sept. 13 and 27, Oct. 11 and 25, Nov. 1 *moved due to general election* and 22, and Dec. 6 and 13.

Election day is finally here!

At long last, the day we've been waiting for!

Once you're done reading this, be sure to minimize this page and go out and vote - and be sure to use #Montcovote to let us know where you did and if it was busy!

Good afternoon - did you go out and cast your #Montcovote today? Are you ready for no more mailers, calls, commercials...?

— dan sokil (@dansokil) November 3, 2015

If you haven't already cast your vote, here is our rundown of the local races in our area with info from them in their own words:

NORTH WALES - Democrat Sal Amato and Republican Martha Lottes are running for one North Wales Ward 3 seat http://bit.ly/1GJYr1S

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP - Democrat Scott Brown chose not to run again in Ward 1, so Democrat Bob Miller and Republican Laura Thomas are both seeking that seat: http://bit.ly/1Mfsxe0

Over in Ward 5, a very familiar race: Republican Gerry Andris and Democrat Tom Landauer are running against each other for the third time: http://bit.ly/1Q9uf29

UPPER GWYNEDD: Incumbent Republicans Ken Kroberger, Jim Santi and Tom Duffy are opposed by  Democrat challengers Kathryn Carlson, Liz McNaney and Rob Wilkinson: http://bit.ly/1RoY11h

Right here in LANSDALE, control of council is in the balance as four incumbent Democrats face Republican challengers, and Republican incumbent Ray Liberto is on the ballot but not campaigning against Democrat Carrie Hawkins Charlton: http://bit.ly/1Q4gBy7

Ward 1 Democrat Steve Malagari is opposed by Republican Thomas York  http://bit.ly/1Mayk11

Democrat Denton Burnell is opposed by Republican challenger Rebecca Faucette in Ward 3 http://bit.ly/1Pk5VKj

and former councilman Len Schmidt and newcomer Richard Smith are challenging Democrats Jack Hansen and Rich DiGregorio, first elected in 2007, in Ward 2: http://bit.ly/1Pk5WxV

Let me know what you see out at the polls today!

More budget news - MMOs

Now that budget season is underway for our local municipalities, we're hearing quite a bit about MMOs, or Minimum Municipal Obligations. An MMO is an amount a local municipality is required to pay for pension expenses during each budget year. Most municipalities have some sort of pension board or committee that oversees these calculations

Per state law, each municipality is required to certify what those numbers are by the end of September, ahead of passing their formal budget in November/December. The budget includes those amounts as an expense the muni is required to pay, and there is usually state reimbursement available for at least some of the MMO pension costs - that also varies by municipality.

Here are the MMOs that have been approved recently:

- Hatfield Township's MMO obligations are slated to decrease for the first time in nearly a decade in 2016, a trend officials attributed to a defined contribution plan first implemented in 2013. Total township pension costs totalled $623,860 in 2014, peaked at $716,383 in 2015 and now project to fall to $537,788 in 2016; here's the breakdown:

- Lansdale Borough: Police MMO has been calculated as $967,144 for 2016, based on a total police employee payroll of $2.74 million and an expected contribution of $96,000 from members.

MMO for borough non-uniform pension plan has been calculated as $475,000; of that total $190,000 is required for the management category of employee; $190,000 for employees of the Molders Union, and the remaining $95,000 from AFSCME union members.

- Montgomery Township: MMO for the township's police pension plan in 2016 has been calculated at $761,309; estimated state aid is $247,000 leaving a township obligation of $514,309. 2016's figure is a 1% increase from 2015, and a total of 36 police officers contribute 5% of their salaries.

For non-uniform employees, the MMO is calculated to be $279,591 in 2016, with an estimated state aid of $188,000 leaving a local obligation of $91,591. 49 employees participate in the plan, to which the township contributes 8% and the employee, 4%; the 2016 total is less than a 1% increase over 2015, according to the township.

- North Wales: Council approved an MMO figure of $65,770 at their Sept. 8 meeting, and council Vice President Christine Hart said the borough typically receives "most of it back in subsidies" from the state. "To keep it fully funded is something we've done as long as I've been here. We have not stopped contributions, even when we've been ahead of the game," she said.

- Towamencin: Police MMOs for 2016 have been calculated to be $773,557 for 2016, down from an $814,586 figure in 2015. The township's non-uniform MMO, based on a defined benefit pension plan, has been calculated at $162,360 in 2016, down from $181,117 in 2015.

- Upper Gwynedd's MMO figures were still being calculated during their Sept. 15 workshop, and I've asked their staff if those figures are available - will update once I get that info!

2015 Budget season - UPDATED 10/13

UPDATE 10/13: Montgomery Township has announced their schedule of topics to be discussed during a series of budget workshops later this month.
The board has already voted to schedule budget workshop meetings for Oct. 20, 21, 22 and 28, with Oct. 29 as a backup date. All meetings will start at 6:30 p.m. and run until roughly 8:30-9 p.m.
Topics for each of those sessions have now been announced:
Oct. 20 - budget overview, general engineering projects, traffic engineering, Public Works, Parks
Oct. 21 - Environmental Advisory Committee, Fire Department of Montgomery Township and Department of Fire Services, Sewer Authority, Planning/zoning, Shade Tree commission
Oct. 22 - Community & Recreation Center and Autumn Festival, Police, IT and Finance
Oct. 28 - Administration, personnel, conclusion.
The supervisors are tentatively scheduled to adopt a preliminary budget on Nov. 9 to start the formal public review period, and adopt the final budget on Dec. 14. If any change is made during the drafting process that alters one item by more than 25 percent or the total budget by more than ten percent, the budget must be re-advertised for another 20 days, according to township staff.
All of those meetings will be held at the township administration building, 1001 Stump Road; for more information visit www.MontgomeryTwp.org or follow @MontTwp on Twitter.

UPDATE 10/9: Towamencin has adjusted their budget schedule due to the cancellation of an Oct. 7 budget workshop meant to discuss several township departments.
With the Oct. 7 meeting canceled, Oct. 21 will now mark the start of budget talks, with topics on the to-do list including the township Police, Fire Department, emergency management, Code enforcement, and the Morgan Log House.
Several other departments originally scheduled for Oct. 7 will now be discussed on Oct. 18: Parks and Recreation, Public Works, the Towamencin Pool, and the long-term capital budget and fee schedule.
A budget workshop on Nov. 4 will discuss remaining departments: Finance, IT, economic development, administration, and sewer.
Adoption of a tentative 2016 budget, originally scheduled for Nov. 10, will now take place during a Nov. 18 budget meeting.
The 20-day window for public inspection now means that instead of final adoption of the budget on Dec. 9, the budget will now be adopted on Dec. 23 at the supervisors' work session. For more info visit www.Towamencin.org

ORIGINAL POST:

It's that time of year again, one of the most important and yet unappreciated for local governments - budget season!

Each of our local municipalities has at least one, and usually a series, of meetings to go over the last year's budget and plan the coming year.

Typically, each department (parks, finance, police, code, public works, etc) will submit a draft budget containing everything they would like to see included in the next year, and over the next several meetings their board will cut that down to make ends meet.

Depending on their schedules, each of the municipalities handles the early weeks of budget season differently, but all of them have to approve a draft budget in November, make it available for public comment, and approve the final version in December.

Each municipality schedules their budget talks differently: Lansdale Borough began talking about the expenditure side of their budget in Sept. 2 council committee meetings, and will talk about revenues in their Oct. 7 committees next week. Those committee meetings start at 7 p.m. on Oct. 7 at the borough municipal building, 1 Vine Street, and the draft budget could be adopted Nov. 18 and the final version Dec. 16.

Montgomery Township's board had a choice between several possible budget meeting dates, and said they'll hold their workshops on Oct. 20, 21, 22 and 28 with the 29th as a backup date. Those meetings start at 6:30 p.m. and tend to run to 8:30-9pm, and (SEE ABOVE FOR UDPATE) which department goes on which date will depend on when engineers and professional consultants are available, according to their finance director. Those meetings are held at their administration building, 1001 Stump Road, and follow them on Twitter @MontTwp or visit www.MontgomeryTwp for details on which meeting is when.

Upper Gwynedd tends to hold one all-night budget meeting to discuss their entire wish-list, and last year's ran from 5 p.m. to roughly 11:30 p.m. - eat something beforehand! That meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 27 at their administration building, 1 Parkside Place.

Hatfield Township holds an annual goal-setting meeting - which used to be at the start of the calendar year, until they realized it made more sense to hold it while drafting the budget - and then keep up talks on the budget during board workshop meetings. The budget-only meeting has been scheduled for Nov. 11 and the other commissioners' meetings are schedule for Nov. 4 and 18 (which should include a formal budget presentation) and December 2 and 16, all at their admin building, 1950 School Road.

North Wales Borough is a trickier case, since they are still looking for their next full-time borough manager. Last year, the former manager had a budget complete in mid-November before he left to work in a larger town, but this year's schedule is still to be determine. Borough council has said they hope to have a new manager hired by Nov. 1, and their council meetings are scheduled for Nov. 10 and 24 and Dec. 8 and 15, all at the borough municipal building, 300 School Street.

And last but certainly not least, Towamencin's supervisors have scheduled several budget workshops, to be held at 7 p.m. on Oct. 7 and 21 and Nov. 4. Those will go alongside supervisors meetings at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 10 and 24 and Dec. 9 and 23, all of which will be held at their township building, 1090 Troxel Road.

Let me know if I'll see you at any of these budget meetings!

Finn McCool's update + more Hatfield news

New news from Hatfield Township regarding one of their most prominent vacant properties:

(Photo by Mark Psoras for The Reporter - all other photos are taken by me unless i say otherwise)

Hatfield officials discussing possible demolition of former Finn McCool’s building http://bit.ly/1JBlBC3

This has been a tricky issue for several years, ever since the property owner was murdered in a home invasion in January 2013 - which is still the coldest i have ever been, so cold my cellphone and flipcam stopped working while at that scene.

Anyways! Hatfield has had this property on their radar for several years, including during talks on their imminent danger ordinance which produced one of the strangest quotes i've ever heard in a meeting:

>>
“My office was prepared to have a court order to have Finn McCool’s demolished, and right as we were about to serve that paperwork the owner was murdered, which held up that process,” she said.
<<

More details on what could happen with that property are in that story, so click the link above!
And in other news from Hatfield, a resident brought up an issue we'll likely hear more about coming soon - political campaign signs. The resident asked if signs already placed in the township should be taken down because we are more than 30 days from an election, and the reply from the township solicitor was to say that regulations currently on the books are not enforceable.
"Not only would I recommend that it not be enforced, but that we take the time to take it off the books," said solicitor Christen Pionzio.
The only enforceable regulations the township can enforce would govern whether signs are placed in rights-of-way and present safety hazards, she told the commissioners.
"There should be nothing on the code relative to political signs. You can keep them up year-round if you want to. It's free speech, so quite frankly, there shouldn't be any (regulations)," she said.
What do you think? Should municipalities be able to regulate political signs, or just have no codes at all? Let me know by commenting here or tweet me @Dansokil - thanks!