Thursday, May 16, 2013
Despite protests at its May 2 meeting, the committee introduces a budget calling for a tax hike.
The public comment portion of the township committee meeting Thursday night was interrupted three times with an ear-splitting feedback loop from microphones on the dais that halted all communication for a solid 30 seconds each time. If you were looking for a clearer metaphor to describe the atmosphere of West Deptford government meetings in advance of the 2013 budget introduction, you wouldn’t have to go much further than that. Staring down the introduction of a budget that would levy 9¢ per $100 of assessed value, the governing body couldn’t even get a motion on the table at its prior meeting. Mayor Ray Chintall was having none of that in the May 16 proceedings, however. He pre-empted any conflict among his fellow committee members with a…
The West Deptford committee is also slated to discuss the issuance of as much as $5 million in tax anticipation notes.
The West Deptford township committee will make a second attempt to introduce its 2013 budget at its Thursday night meeting. The first attempt didn't fare so well, with a heated discussion between Commiteeman Sam Cianfarini and Committeewoman Denice DiCarlo devolving into arguments about the budgeting process. This week, the issue will be further colored by the news that the township is seeking to issue up to $5 million in tax anticipation notes in the same agenda. Cianfarini told Patch on Wednesday that the notes will be necessary since the introduction of the 2013 township budget has been delayed—in part, he said, because "We can’t get a straight answer from the county government about final assessment values. "We can’t find out what the …
Friday, May 10, 2013
Committeewoman Denice DiCarlo said she didn't have enough detailed information from the CFO about the working budget prior to the last committee meeting.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Committeewoman Denice DiCarlo said she didn't have enough detailed information from the CFO about the working budget prior to the May 2 meeting.
Communication issues among members of the West Deptford township committee drove the May 2 meeting of the body, with committee members Denice DiCarlo and Sam Cianfarini challenging each other over the 2013 municipal budget. During that meeting, DiCarlo said her inability to get answers of depth to a number of specific questions posed of West Deptford CFO Brenda Sprigman added to her frustration with the process. Afterward, DiCarlo produced a string of email correspondences that she said illustrated some of her difficulties along the way. Correspondence In one email exchange dated April 12, DiCarlo asked Sprigman, “Who is handling the budget this year? You or the Auditors?” Sprigman's reply is, “The budget is being handled this year the …
Friday, May 3, 2013
The proverbial wheels fell right off a meeting that was expected to include the introduction of the 2013 township budget, with residents reacting audibly, and officials playing to the crowd.
Fault lines in the working relationships of township committee members were put on public display Thursday, as arguments over township finances smothered any formal introduction of the 2013 municipal budget. Mayor Ray Chintall was forced to lean heavily on his gavel, alternately quieting the body on the dais and those in attendance, who hooted or grumbled depending upon their seating arrangements. Committee members Denice DiCarlo and Sam Cianfarini were at the center of what have become commonly contentious exchanges, with emotions running high amid the strain of flagging municipal revenues. The arguments swung on a convoluted budget presentation from Cianfarini that illustrated how deeply the loss of ratable properties will be felt by …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
The agenda for the meeting also calls for the establishment of a cap bank and includes second readings of the ordinance amending the fee structure for RiverWinds members.
The published agenda for Thursday's township committee meeting includes the introduction of the 2013 municipal budget. At the April work session, Committeeman Sam Cianfarini said taxpayers were trying to avoid an almost 17-cent increase per $100 “before we start cutting.” That would have worked out to about a $350 tax increase for the average household. West Deptford residents can already expect to pay $123 more in school taxes this year. The average assessed value of a home last year was about $208,000; this year’s assessment will come in below that, administrator Eric Campo told Patch at that meeting. Township leaders will also introduce an ordinance to establish a budget cap bank, which would allow West Deptford to "bank" any unlevied …
Thursday, April 18, 2013
At its Thursday night work session, the West Deptford Township Committee approved an agreement to solicit corporate advertising on township assets to raise revenues.
What would West Deptford look like with a Wawa logo on its water tower? Or an upbeat message about recycling—brought to you by Lowe’s—on the side of its garbage trucks? How about a discount on plumbing fixtures at Home Depot, printed right on the bottom of a water bill shipped directly to 22,000 homes? These are some of the ideas that could be brought to life in the near future, as the local government seeks to find ways to offset its multimillion-dollar loss of ratables and “a double-digit [percentage] increase” in taxes, said Mayor Ray Chintall. “Eyeballs and bodies” were the watchwords of Thursday's West Deptford Township Committee meeting, and the 40-plus residents there heard about government plans to focus both on generating …
Thursday, April 4, 2013
If finalized, membership fees for Township residents would increase about 5.5 to 7 percent, raising about $81,000 in revenues.
Fees for use of the RiverWinds Community Center are likely to increase in the not-too-distant future. The first reading of an ordinance that would increase membership fees along a sliding scale passed a West Deptford Township Committee vote by a majority at the Thursday meeting. If approved at subsequent readings, the measure could raise some $81,365 in additional revenues for the financially beleagured facility. The range of proposed fees presented to the Comittee by the RiverWinds Advisory Board (R.W.A.B.), which was introduced at its March 2013 meeting, ranged from a 2-percent, across-the-board increase, which would generate $28,963 in revenues, to a 10 percent flat increase that would raise $144,816 in revenues. The final …
The 25-year-old Deputy Mayor said that he's comfortable taking a break from politics until he gets some more personal and professional development.
Deputy Mayor Sean Kilpatrick isn’t ruling out a return to politics. But at 25, one of the youngest elected officials in the history of West Deptford believes there’s only so much he can bring to the table without greater personal and professional development. Kilpatrick, who points out that he was unemployed at the time of his candidacy, is hoping that with a little more career experience and possibly an advanced degree under his belt, he will be in a position to reconsider public office. “At this point, I’m still trying to kind of find my way,” Kilpatrick told Patch on Monday afternoon, when it was announced that he would not pursue re-election on the Republican ticket for Township Committee. Still, Kilpatrick said he is proud of his …
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Also on the docket: purchasing agreements for tax software and a new public works truck, and an ordinance to codify the structure of the township police department.
After a discussion of ways to improve the financial picture of the RiverWinds last month, an ordinance addressing the subject will be introduced at the Thursday meeting of the West Deptford Township Committee. The RiverWinds issues will accompany a larger discussion about general fees throughout the Township, an ordinance outlining which is up for a second reading Thursday. The Committee will also introduce regulations codifying the structure of the Township Police Department to comply with a state statute. Fianlly, proposed purchasing highlights on the agenda: a $138,000 agreement for tax-and-utility collection software and another in excess of $96,000 for a heavy-duty cab and chassis from Robert H. Hoover & Sons Inc. For the full scoop…
Samantha McCall
11:28 pm on Monday, May 20, 2013
Wayne, I really think that you should run. I really do believe that you can turn this around. I know that you will find that the debt was all a lie and you can bring us back to reality. Please run. more ›