And the Winner Is.....

Photo by Evan Brandt

The Pottstown School District's Teachers of the Year wait to find out which will will represent the district in the statewide Teacher of the Year Competition. They are, from left, Sarah Paul, Julie Boettcher, Mandy Wampole, Jamie Fazekas, Amy Gazillo, Arden Moore and Kelly Smale.

Well for the umpteenth year in the row, the Pottstown School District chose to combine one of the most important votes of the year, the adoption of the tentative budget for the year, with a number of other ceremonies including the Teacher of the Year.

So, while families of the teachers talked with each other after the naming of the district's Teacher of the Year (I'm not telling, you have to read the Tweets), the board voted 7-2 to spend $55.9 million.

Photo by Evan Brandt

The 16th consecutive Distinguished Unit ribbon is attached to the 

Pottstown High School Air Force JROTC flag by 

Schools Superintendent Jeff Sparagansa. 

Not that you'd know that from looking at the meeting agenda, where other crucial amounts like the hourly rate for the cafeteria manager are dutifully noted. But hey, why would you want to know what the budget is at a public meeting where, you know, you might offer public comment or something.

It's almost as if the budget vote is an after-thought, a sideshow after the main event.

Silly public.

And you thought it was YOUR school district.

You only get to pay for it.

There is still one more budget vote, in June.

In the meantime, this "proposed budget" is available for public review for 30 days, as required by law, after which you can offer public comment when, you know, its too late.

Please find below the Tweets and one Tout video from last night's meeting. And remember to click the blue "Read Next Page" bar to make sure you've got it all.

Borough Budget Update

Although Pottstown Borough Council has yet to be presented with a budget draft, the members of
council's finance committee have.

It is too soon to say if council will be able to avoid raising property taxes for two years in a row, but it is obviously on everybody's mind.

Councilman Dan Weand, who chairs the finance committee, told council that so far he likes the way the borough' finances are shaping up.

"So far, with 75 percent of the year past, we've brought in 85 percent of the revenue and only seen 74 percent of the expenses," said Weand.

"Right now we're running a pretty good ship and that's how we brought in a zero tax increase last year, and we're holding to it," he said.

He credited borough staff with "reaching the benchmarks we set" and noted that another positive budget factor is that tax collections are coming in at a higher percentage than expected.

Dan Weand

"We have to give our staff a lot of credit. They've done a fine job for 75 percent of the year," Weand said.

"We used to budget assuming a 91 percent collection rate," Weand said, "but right now we're approaching 94 percent."

Nevertheless, he was cautious about speaking too soon about next year's tax rate.

"We're not down to a zero yet, and we may not hit it as there are some difficulties being forecast in the coming year," Weand said.

Borough Manager Mark Flanders told council Tuesday night that the process of planning for 2014 is "well under way."

He said council could expect to see a budget draft at the first committee of the whole meeting in November, which is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 6, the day after election day.....

On the Road Again

As part of its discussions for the 2014 budget Monday, Upper Pottsgrove Township officials revealed plans for a set of extensive road re-paving projects to try to get ahead of the township's deteriorating road network.

The plan is to take about $40,000 of the $175,000 the township receives each year from the state's liquid fuels fund, and use it to make payments on a borrowing of between $400,000 and $450,000

"This is a major initiative, we've never done anything like this before," said Commissioners Chairman Elwood Taylor.

Upper Pottsgrove Township commissioners, from left, Russ Noll,

Peter Dolan, Elwood Taylor, Renee Spaide, Herb Miller.

He said doing the paving all at once will help the township get out ahead of always being behind the curve.

"We can't just do $45,000 worth of paving a year, we never catch up," Township Manager Jack Layne said after the meeting.

"In the past, developers paid for some of the re-paving or we used money from sewer projects to re-pave, but we have to get to some of these through roads, they can't await any longer," Taylor said.

The tentative list Public Works Director Frank Quinter has put together is as follows:

1. Yarnall Road -- $83,350
2. Snyder Road, Yarnall to House No. 389 -- $10,868
3. Horseshoe Drive -- $59,342
4. Irwin Drive and Hanover Drive -- $95,430
5. Juniper Street, Mervine Street to paving change -- $4,335
6. Heather Place, Primrose and Lotus Drive -- $73,665
7. Mock Road, Needhammer to Route 663 -- $66,938
8. Chestnut Grove Roaed, in front of the PAL Field driveway -- $2,000

Quinter said the price quoted for "base repairs," has come in uncharacteristically high, and the township is hoping that by bidding all the jobs together, the price can be brought down and additional work can be added.

Commissioner Herb Miller questioned when the township is planning to do paving work in the Regal Oaks section of town, noting that the commissioners had heard complaints about the roads in that development.

Layne replied that that there are plans to do major sewer work on those roads as soon as 2015 or 2016, "so if we paved in there we would have to rip it right up."

By contrast, Horseshoe Drive, which has never been re-built, is not scheduled for sewer work until 2021, he said.

Miller said that the township should communicate that fact to the residents and Taylor said a township newsletter on the road projects might be in order.

Layne said because the state's liquid fuels fund comes from the tax on gasoline, the money must be spent on road repair and related items.