Trappe's Newest Tax!

The power of the new Collegeville-Trappe Super Authority is growing as the weeks go by.  The articles of incorporation were revised less than 30 days ago and, at last night’s Council Meeting, Trappe’s “Trusted Team” majority of Fred Shuetz, Paul Edwards, Marshall Stomel and Lew DiPrete wanted to revise them again in order to add the power to assess storm water taxes, described as “fees” – enabling the Sewer Authority (comprised of members who answer to no one, not even to Trappe and Collegeville Council Members) to now tax school districts and churches.  The school districts will convert this fee into higher real estate taxes on our properties.

Dependent upon Pennsylvania regulations, storm water projects could require additional expenditures thereby necessitating funding, but let’s be honest - a tax is a tax.  When Council Member Nevin Scholl questioned this new tax, Lew DiPrete angrily defended the word “fee” versus what it is, a new nuisance tax.  Marshall Stomel then chastised Scholl for even questioning the fee/tax. Don’t question a new tax affecting every Trappe resident?  Really!

Scholl was not debating the need for storm water management.  He was however questioning the means of funding. 

Our school district just eliminated one inefficient nuisance tax, the $15 head tax, which every year wasted most of our hard earned dollars on collection and census costs.  Now the Trappe’s “Trusted Team” wants to tee up the mechanism to collect another nuisance tax based on “impermeable surface area”.   How much will this new tax cost to compute for each property?  As if that isn’t wasteful enough of our fee/tax dollars, on top of that some have added a system of tax credits.  This looks like the start of a whole new tax system which over the years could end up looking like our income tax system with all of its exemptions and deductions. 

Except with this proposed new system, it is out of the direct reach of the voters.  Whether you call it fees or taxes on your real estate, answer this question:  Do you want unelected Sewer Authority members to have the option to assess your property without your right to vote them in or out of office? This is a clear example of taxation without representation. 

Trappe’s majority faction, calling themselves the “Trusted Team” consisting of Council President Fred Schuetz, Vice President Paul Edwards, Lew DiPrete and Marshall Stomel: what these men are steamrolling over on us is as immoral and unfair as it gets to Trappe ratepayers and taxpayers, and now add schools and churches.  The objective: dissolve a Committee of elected officials in charge of our water and fold everything into an Authority led by unelected cronies who can raise our rates and tax us without voter representation.  Trust that much?