December 2007 Meeting:
In addition to the three sitting supervisors, this meeting was attended by the newly elected supervisor Joeseph E. Rudderow, III. A special meeting with Joeseph E. Rudderow, III, has been scheduled for 12/19/2007. The purpose of the meeting is to bring the new supervisor up to speed on some issues in the township. Portions of the 12/19/2007 meeting will be public and portions will be executive session. I welcome Joeseph E. Rudderow, III, and look forward to working with him to serve the residents of Maidencreek. I also would like to commend the outgoing supervisor Robert Kopfer for his years of dedicated service to Maidencreek residents.
One of the highlights of the December meeting was the passage of the budget. The proposed budget had a 1/8 mil tax decrease. The reason for the tax decrease was that Maidencreek township's Earned Income Tax (EIT) receipts have been steadily increasing. We have created an emergency fund (or operating reserve fund). This budget (with the tax decrease) will still have about $280,000 in the operating reserve fund by the end of 2008. For details on the budget see the Table on the webpage for the previous meeting.
Joeseph E. Rudderow, III, wrote a letter expressing concern over the tax cut. His concern is that the economic uncertainty (declining value of the dollar, subprime mortgages etc.) will squeeze the township in future years. These are valid concerns, however, these issues are much bigger than the Maidencreek township budget. Maidencreek has been blessed with supervisors who have controlled spending, and growth in the EIT. We are unable to reduce the EIT rate, however, we can return the money to the people through a decrease in the property tax rate. That is exactly what the 2008 budget does. Our newly elected supervisor, Joeseph E. Rudderow, III, is concerned that the tax cut will have to be reversed as the EIT receipts fall due to a failing economy. This may indeed happen, but is it likely? The dot-com bubble burst of a few years ago resulted in the closing of the Lucent Reading Plant . That plant had been a huge employer in our county with good jobs for many Maidencreek residents. The plant closed on May 16, 2003. Below is a graph of Maidencreek Township EIT receipts from 2000 to the present. Note: the dot-com bubble burst along with the plant closing is just minor bump in the EIT receipts. The EIT receipts continued to rise as many Maidencreek residents found new jobs, and re-tooled their skills for the uncertain future.
As I said, concerns about America's monetary policy are valid. We may well have a worse economic disaster in our future than the dot-com bubble burst. However, it would be just wrong for the township to continue to amass a huge emergency fund on the backs of the taxpayers. We need to keep government spending controlled at all levels of government, and the township is no exception. The best way to deal with the foolishness in America's monetary policy is to support good candidates in the upcoming presidential race. That is the chief reason I support Dr. Ron Paul in the 2008 republican primary.
He is about the only U.S. congressman I'm aware of that has not committed malpractice while in office.
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
