November Vote:

Some thoughts on the behavior of those campaigning for the ballot question:

If you have been to a township meeting recently, you know that there has been a vocal group harassing the current board on:

• the ballot question

• employee policies that do not meet their approval

• their desire to force their neighbors to pay for their kid's sports

• etc. etc. etc.

I have never seen the politics in this township become so dirty. We have a citizen's group that appears to have violated election laws concerning the disclosure of funding. I brought this matter to the attention of the county officials, because Maidencreek voters have a right to know who is trying to influence their elections.

Rather than present a logical argument for a five member board, this group attacks the Supervisors, and their families personally. They involve wives, children, how the parents choose to educate their children, how the supervisors earn a living etc. I've never seen people behave this way at the local level. I am including the links to their web sites so you can become fully informed on this issue.

(remember to return here to see data on the townships in our county and their municipal tax rates)

MVA associate director Gloria Kemmerer's current web site

Maidencreek Voter's Alliance

NOTE TO THE READER: The above web sites are quite dynamic, and their content may change at any time. This was written 11/3/06

Some thoughts on the ballot question:

There is a group that supports the expansion of the board of supervisors from three to five.

The MVA web site would have you believe the size of the township merits going from a three member board to a five member board.

Their web site is not very informative as to what they hope to accomplish with the five member board. However, on the web site, and in newspaper articles they have said that a five member board could get Route 222 fixed. They are clearly misrepresenting the facts in the case of 222. Routes 222 and 73 are state roads and under PennDOT. We have talked with PennDOT and Dave Argall on this. A five member board will not accelerate the process. While the MVA web site is short on what their agenda may be, not all their members are as reticent. They have spoken out in favor of increased taxes and spending programs. They are fond of comparing our township to Muhlenberg. Maidencreek voters should know that Muhlenberg has a municipal property tax rate that is 184% higher than Maidencreek. The average tax rate for 3 member board townships is 1.09 mills, while 5 member board townships average 1.99 mills. Click here to see the data You can see from the table that some five member board townships enjoy a low tax rate, but on average townships with 5 member boards are nearly twice the tax rate of three member board townships.

Also note one of MVA's chief arguments is that Maidencreek is the largest township in Berks with three supervisors. This argument requires that ALL townships in Berks adopt a 5 member board, since in any given year some 3 member board township is the largest township with three.

Some bullet items on the drive for five:

Do we really need 5 supervisors? The entire County is run by 3 commissioners, so why do we need 5 supervisors for Maidencreek?

They want you to think they can fix Route 222 with their five member board, but 222 is a PennDOT road. The supervisors have NO authority over PennDOT.

The REAL agenda behind the "Drive for 5" is to pack the Board of Supervisors by adding two additional persons that share the views of the Maidencreek Voters Alliance. Their agenda could cost you hundreds of dollars in taxes every year.

Those goals include:

• An expensive Community Center with indoor walking trails (check out my post for August and September)

• Additional funding for entitlement programs like Parks & Recreation

• Increased development in the township leading to even more traffic

• According to their website, the MVA members find living in the country to be a burden - "As of now, we all experience undue burden of traveling...to certain supermarket, drug stores, restaurants, and other necessary facilities.... "

Nearby townships and boroughs that have adopted this agenda have taxes that are 100 to 184% greater than our current Maidencreek Township Tax. That is up to $345 EXTRA tax on a $150,000 home.

Berks County Townships and their Municipal Tax rates (Source is 2005 data found on the Reading Eagle website)

NOTE: 1.00 mil of tax equals $150 for a family with a $150,000 home.

I still have copies of the Fredrick Bastiat book “The Law” available to Maidencreek residents. Email me if you want one.

Paid for by Roy Timpe

email: Roy Timpe

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