Columbia Borough Council Election Returns Totals

[Source: Lancaster County Board of Elections]

Totals

By Precinct

Columbia council candidates for change sweep election - Preliminary results

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Today is Election Day. Get out and vote!

Polls are open 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Sample ballot

What you should know before voting on Tuesday

Some Columbia Borough officials would have you believe that the borough is on the upswing. Unfortunately, that's not the case. In fact, borough council has overspent its budget over the last several years and continues to do so.

As you can see on the graph below, expenditures have exceeded revenues for the past few years. If this continues (and it appears to be), a huge municipal tax hike (31%) is in our future.

The figures shown above were taken from the borough's own audit reports compiled by Sager, Swisher & Co.

This recent LNP article states that the borough might narrowly avoid a 31% municipal tax hike this year. To do this, they will have to take more than a million dollars (over 50%) from reserves. If this rate of overspending continues, a tax hike will be inevitable by the end of next year due to overspending. Borough council, led by President Kelly Murphy, passed a 21.2% tax increase for this year. Murphy and Cleon Berntheizel have been chair and vice chair, respectively, of the finance committee for the past several years.

Here is a warning from the borough's finance manager, taken from the October 10, 2019 budget meeting. It states that the fund balance will be exhausted in 2021.



The link I've included below includes a recording and transcript of Borough Manager Rebecca Denlinger warning (and slightly scolding) Council President Kelly Murphy about overspending. She warns him that the borough is spending beyond its means and asks him if his plan is to just keep taking from fund balance and then hike taxes "a whole bunch."

Here's the LINK.

This open letter from former Columbia Borough Manager Norm Meiskey, lays out several complaints against the current borough council, in particular, overspending.

Meiskey has also addressed council about overspending and other issues HERE, HERE, and HERE.  Unfortunately for borough taxpayers, council ignored his advice and passed a 21.2% municipal tax increase for 2019.


As a result, over 1,150 taxpayers signed a petition (shown below) demanding that borough council hold a special meeting to eliminate $800,000 allocated to the borough's Revolving Loan Fund in the 2019 budget, repeal the Revolving Loan Fund, and repeal the tax hike.

Signed petitions were presented to council members, but council did not schedule a meeting with taxpayers. Subsequently, taxpayers held several meetings/petition drives of their own to continue collecting signatures and discuss issues. 

At a regular borough council in January of this year, council dismissed the petitions, thus ignoring the stated demands, as Columbia Spy reported HERE.

In response, taxpayers formed the Columbia Concerned Citizens Association (CCCA), which filed a lawsuit against the borough to repeal the Revolving Loan Fund and tax increase. The fund was created to loan taxpayer dollars from the general fund to private business. Even though the borough's auditors warned that the funds could not be used in this manner, council went ahead anyway. Due to pressure from the CCCA, the borough finally relented and repealed the loan fund. The tax increase remains in place, however. The loan fund's $800,000 balance was transferred to the borough's general fund a few months ago. 

Here's where to vote Tuesday, November 5

About Town 11/03/19

This week's photos of Columbia

 Looks like it's a pumpkin-eat-pumpkin world out there.

 Here's another remnant of Halloween.

And another

 Cat's eye

 Things seem to be progressing at Floyd's of Leadville on Bridge Street.

These guys were putting in a new concrete slab there.

 Hidden in plain sight

 Costume party?

 Afternoon flowers

 KEEP OUT is down and out.

 Angelic butt collector

 Revived ghost sign

 Profile

Lipping his lips

 Two main rules in life: Don't open a can of worms, and don't stir up a hornet's nest.

 That crane at 4th & Locust can be seen from Laurel Hill.

 There's a new hawk in town.

Redtails have been thriving here.

 PPL crews worked on North 4th this week in conjunction with the construction project at 4th & Locust.

One worker decided to try to prohibit photographs in the area - you know, in public, where it's legal. 

So, it's time to post this again.

 The trash pile at this property in the 500 block of Avenue G has been cleaned up, after sitting there for a few years.

 And this attic window, former entrance to a vultures' nest, has been boarded up.

 The 400 block of Locust was closed off for two days this week to accommodate the crane and other vehicles at the construction site there.

 It's a mighty high crane.

 Obviously a supervisor

 Coming together

 Working through the bucket list

 All you need is Love when it comes to painting.

Speaking of paint, here's a uniquely painted pickup.

Speaking of pickups, here's an interesting one.

 Night flight

 Free, but it's probably gone by now.

 On the line

 Save our local dairy farms, wherever they may be.

 Bricks and broken chair - There's a message here somewhere.

 Newly fallen

 Up, up, and away!

 Thumbs down

 Walking the straight and narrow

 Hanging around

 Gittin' 'er done

 Connecting

 Men at work

 Ready to go

 Big man on a little job, or little man on a big job?

 Sticker shock

 Watching the work go by

 Out for a walk

 Play ball!

Welder: about to weld

 Welder: welding

 Framework

 Weekend warriors

One of the herons is back. They'd been lying low since the Bridge Bust.

 Sunday morning run

 Things were going swimmingly during the Sunday morning river training, led by Todd Stahl.

 Just remember not to lose your head during training.

 Todd Stahl looking for volunteers

 There's a couple.

 Ready . . .

 Steady . . .

 Set . . .

 GO!!!