We are stuck between a concrete slab and a hard place.
As regular readers know, Jenkintown Borough has cited us for having substandard sidewalks and curbs. Despite the fact that this is government property, this Borough can and does force its residents to pay directly for their repair. Because of this, we face what amounted to a surprise tax of over $3500. If we do not comply with their order, we face fines of $185 per day or jail. We currently have until July to comply with the Borough’s demands.
Unfortunately, we simply do not have the money for these repairs, and complying with this order will drive us further into debt. Randy has been essentially underemployed for the past four years, and we are struggling to pay down substantial credit card debt that we have mostly used to keep the lights on, food on the table and clothes on our back. Jenkintown Borough makes no provision for hardship and this policy produces laughable results.
We will use this money to pay a contractor to make the required repairs. It pains us to ask for any kind of financial help, but Jenkintown Borough gives us little choice. We either have to pay or we could lose our house. Our taxes are paid and we keep up our property, but Jenkintown wants still more.
We have already paid for the repairs to the sidewalk using a refund received from our oil company for overpaying on our budget account. Thankfully, we experienced a warm winter and low oil prices, but we were hoping to use that money to pay down our credit cards.
If this campaign is successful, contributors of $10 or more will get an invite to the best Garbtoberfest bash we’ve ever thrown. Better beers, more pulled pork, a smoked brisket, and other goodies, while basking in the splendor of the best sidewalks and curbs money can buy in this town. Thank you all so much.
Why are you saying that the work needs to be done and you are afraid of fines in your GoFundMe page when the work has been completed for weeks?
Only part of the work has been completed. We still need to do the curb. On the GoFundMe page, you can see for yourself.
Why did you ask the contractor to do only 1/2 of the job? If I had to pay $3800.00 I would ask for the full job to be complete.
Because at the time, that’s all the money we had available.
What contractor did you use because I will NOT use someone who gets paid $3800.00 for a job but won’t let me pay installments to get the job done. The labor would have been the same to take care of a few feet of curb and that is where the cost really is.
The $3800 figure comes from a contractor we did not use. This was the first estimate we received. Our total amount will ultimately be less, but still more than the PennDOT wholesale rate.
We used Barricelli, which is allowing us to pay in installments, because as Joe Barricelli said, “I like you.” It seems that D&D provided the best quotes, but they are no longer doing work in Jenkintown.
We are grateful to Joe, but it still points out what a horrible system this is. We know people who are doing less but paying more.
Just so I understand. The $3800 you are asking for is based on a quote from a contractor you DID NOT USE. The place that had the best quotes no longer works in your area. The person that did 1/2 the job because he likes you is allowing you to pay installments. No one knows what that amount is because you never mentioned it. Finally, if you raise the full amount, you will have enough left over to throw a party for your friends?
I think I see the problem.
First of all, we are not asking for $3800. We’re asking for $3600, an amount that hedges our bets a little, and if we have extra, we will refund our donors if they so choose. Also, don’t forget that GoFundMe takes out a significant percentage as a fee for their services.
Finally, at the time we launched the campaign, we had not received a quote for the curbs, so we had to base our figure upon a number that Barricelli gave to us last summer.
Keep in mind, that we have yet to reach our goal. We’re far from it. And yes, we do hope to continue our Garbtoberfest tradition this year, but not with any of the proceeds from our campaign — that is unless the donors consent to it.