Latest News

13th heaviest property tax burden and no trash pickup (or sidewalks)

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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 […]

Policy

Goals for Jenkintown’s pedestrian infrastructure

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Anyone who thinks that this blog is devoted to the mere rantings of a disgruntled resident is wrong. This blog represents only the first step in getting this policy changed, because I believe that not only can we change it with minimal impact to our already-high property taxes, but that […]

Policy

The Heavy Jenkintown Tax Burden: Cost vs. Value

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Most people who live in Jenkintown will tell you they love living here, but they won’t tell you that taxes are reasonable. Most I’ve spoken with will express a sentiment along the lines of “they’re already too high”, especially when we start talking about paying for sidewalks. The question then becomes, […]

This Meets Code

Results of Jenkintown’s Beautification, Part 4

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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, […]

Latest News

Pleased to meet you, Jenkintown

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Louise and I have lived together in Jenkintown since late 2002, marrying a year later. The year before, Louise’s mom had passed away, and while she stood to inherit the house, she considered selling it and buying elsewhere. We didn’t much like the house at the time, mainly because of its […]

Latest News

August Council Meeting: What we learned

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At last night’s council meeting, we attended with the plan to ask a few questions and then to observe. However, another resident who spoke after us brought up many additional concerns, which also received plenty of sympathy but no relief. Seeing an ally, we followed him out the door after he aired […]

Policy

How do we pay for this? A few suggestions…

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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 […]

Latest News

Council Meeting August 24: Please Attend

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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 […]