Why I will never vote for Kelly Murphy

So, why won't I vote for Columbia Borough Council candidate Kelly Murphy? Because of what he did. This is his track record when he was on council previously:

• He raised taxes in 2018 when it was unnecessary to do so. That is, he voted to levy a 21.2% TAX HIKE on taxpayers!
• He voted to implement the infamous REVOLVING LOAN FUND that loaned taxpayer money to private business. (The courts later found that the borough administered the fund improperly.)
• He didn't repeal his tax hike and the Revolving Loan Fund despite being petitioned to do so by taxpayers. He ignored a petition signed by 1,162 borough taxpayers!
• He refused to meet with residents when they requested a meeting to discuss repealing the Revolving Loan Fund.
• He voted to purchase $347,000 of unnecessary street lights for a state road. (A grant for the lights fell through, and they were never used and have been sitting at the borough sheds for the past several years.)
• He considered giving a $650,000 grant (taxpayer money!) to a developer.
• He took out a municipal bond (2016) for $9.8 million that we're still on the hook for. It's now at $11 million! The borough might need to implement a special tax levy to pay it off. Taxpayers will need to pay $691,000 a year for 16 years. The tax levy will require an increase of 1-½ mills. That equals a tax hike of almost 19% !
• He voted to purchase the money-losing trolley.
• He abolished the borough's Municipal Authority and liquidated its funds.

True, he didn't do all these things alone, but he did do them. In addition, Kelly hasn't attended any budget meetings so far this year, so how interested is he in Columbia's future?

Based on his record, Kelly Murphy has been careless with taxpayer's money. In 2018, right before he raised taxes, he was even scolded by former borough manager Rebecca Denlinger for overspending and then planning to raise taxes. She asked, "...was part of the plan to say, okay when we run out of fund balance, we're just gonna hike taxes a whole bunch...?"

Here's an audio clip: LINK

Is Kelly Murphy worth your vote? Just look at his record and decide for yourself. As for me, the answer is a resounding "NO"!