Politics & Government

No Tax Increase for Skippack; Board Discusses Capital Items

Funding for technology, open space and trails are on the Township's list of capital items.



At a special budget work session on Nov. 14, the Skippack Township Board of Supervisors announced that property taxes would remain at the current rate, .3508 mills, and that several capital projects are being worked into the 2013 budget.

A primary interest of the board was equipping Skippack Township Building with an emergency generator and a backup computer system, according to Board of Supervisors Chair Mary Beth LaBelle.

"We designated an emergency spot, we need to have [a generator] in the building," LaBelle.

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The board also hopes to utilize the smart board in the township building, which was discussed that the previous month's meeting. A smart board is already installed in the main meeting room of the building, and investments must be made in projection equipment.

Regarding the parks and recreation budget, the board plans to provide improvements to Church Road Park, and also extend a trail from either Delores Drive to Palmer Park or Cassel Road to the Perkiomen Valley Airport.

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Finally, a local cemetery was willed to the township, and funds will be spend to improve the grounds.

La Belle credited the township's financial security with a growing population and a fiscally-conservative mindset.

"Increases only occur from the school part of the taxes, not form our part," LaBelle said.  "We're very fortunate that we had a growing population, and we just do not spend as much as the taxes that come in."

LaBelle also credited the Pennsylvania State Police for saving Skippack from paying for a municipal police force, and also the possibility that the parks and recreation program may, at some point, become large enough to hire a director - but that township is prepared for anything that may come down the road in the future.

"We are very judicious about how we spend," LaBelle said.


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