Meeting of the whole tonight

Columbia Borough Council will hold its monthly meeting of the whole tonight at 6 p.m. at Borough Hall, 308 Locust Street. Department managers are scheduled to be present to discuss the 2016 budget.

The next budget meeting will be held Tuesday, November 17th.

Takeaways from the budget meeting

A proposed 2016 budget was presented at Columbia Borough Council's Tuesday night budget meeting. Among the items discussed were the following:

• The annual police department budget of $2.8 million is approximately equal to the annual amount of property tax revenue. The borough is exploring various options, including regionalization, to contain costs. Several councillors noted that the current situation is "not sustainable" and services may need to be cut in the future if no other options are implemented. According to council, infrastructure improvements and various services have routinely been paid for largely by grants and earned income tax revenue. 

• The borough is looking at filling several positions: full-time codes department employee, highway one level employee, borough manager.

• The proposed millage is 7.75, a reduction of .25 mil, as recommended by the borough auditor. (.25 mil generates $85,000 per year for the borough.)

• The borough was recently informed by their solicitor that the fire company cannot sell the former Columbia No. 1 building on Front Street, because it is on borough land and is therefore borough property and must  be sold through a bidding process or other means.

• Pam Williams requested $6700 to show a series of four movies. The proposed series is an expansion of the recent Movie Under the Stars presentation held at Columbia River Park. Council referred her to the Parks and Recreation Board December 1 meeting.

• Beth Troxell of Susquehanna Center for the Creative Arts requested $3900 for a series of free art classes for Columbia students.

• Department managers are scheduled to attend the meeting of the whole, Monday night, October 26, at 6 p.m. for further budget discussions.

Columbia Happenings today Saturday, October 24

1-4 p.m.

Walk-through on new bypass Sunday, Nov. 1

UPDATE: There will NOT be a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the road.

Columbia Happenings today Friday, October 23

And Fourth Friday:

Fight involving baseball bats reported in Columbia, woman reportedly suffers traumatic injury

Police were responding to reports of a fight involving baseball bats and a traumatic head injury shortly after 9 p.m. in Columbia Borough.

According to dispatches on Lancaster County-wide Communications, the fight involving bats took place at or near 134 S. Third St., close to Avenue J in the borough.

MORE:
http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/fight-involving-baseball-bats-reported-in-columbia-woman-reportedly-suffers/article_b9215380-7923-11e5-9b74-abcfe232b4b0.html

Police: Student, 18, arrested after threatening shooting at Manheim-area school

An Intermediate Unit 13 student on Wednesday threatened to stab a teacher, bring a bomb and gun to school and shoot people, police said.

Austin Tyler Osborne, 18, of Bethel Street, Columbia, made the verbal threats at the IU 13 school at 8 Fairland Road in Penn Township on Wednesday, Northern Lancaster County Regional police said.

MORE:
http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/police-student-arrested-after-threatening-shooting-at-manheim-area-school/article_daf9b748-78c1-11e5-a332-5b23e438d303.html