According to George Locke, Jenkintown residents pay double what it would cost the borough to repair our sidewalks and curbs on a wholesale basis. Despite the hardship to our family, we have applied for our permit to repair our sidewalk. The borough marked off four blocks, but we will do six in order to have a more uniform look to our walkway. That leaves three blocks and our driveway apron for the […]
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Bunker’s Mentality on Better Sidewalks
I attended the Council’s Administration and Finance Committee hearing meeting last Monday to discuss the budget, PennDOT’s Multi-Modal Fund, and to present this blog’s $25 Sidewalk proposal. First, the committee’s explanation as to why the projected 2014 $2.2 million budget carryover didn’t necessarily constitute a “surplus” did not clarify things much. As it was explained to me, Council budgets money so that they need to buy stuff for the next year. “So the […]
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13th heaviest property tax burden and no trash pickup (or sidewalks)
This is the average amount of residential property tax actually paid, expressed as a percentage of home value. Some states with high property taxes, like New Hampshire and Texas, rely heavily on property taxes in lieu of other major tax categories; others, like New Jersey and Illinois, impose high property taxes alongside high rates in the other major tax categories. Source: How High Are Property Taxes in Your State? | […]
This Meets Code
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Results of Jenkintown’s Beautification, Part 4
Yesterday, I toured Greenwood Avenue, where a good part of the curbings appear to be made of granite, not slate. This interests me only because my hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts typically used granite curbs, which typically hold up better against the elements and snow plows. My mom’s neighborhood, built in 1971, and sees about the same amount of traffic as your average Jenkintown side street, has yet to repave the street […]
Policy
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How do we pay for this? A few suggestions…
I would hazard a guess that if you polled all twelve of Jenkintown’s volunteer councilors about finding a better way to pay for sidewalk and curb repair, to a person, they’d likely respond, “but how do we do this without raising taxes?” Indeed, Councilor Laurie Durkin said just that via email, following with, “Residents must pay one way or another.” Maybe, but a one-time, four-figured, out-of-the-blue financial broadside hurts far more than a long-range, pedestrian-focused […]
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Council Meeting August 24: Please Attend
If you are unhappy about the borough of Jenkintown’s sidewalk maintenance policy, then I ask you to please attend this month’s borough council meeting on August 24. If you believe, as I do, that the current policy is unsustainable, inefficient, unsightly, and open to political abuse, please come and express yourself to the council. The board labors under the impression that the status quo suits you fine. Please stand with […]
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