Thursday, January 15, 2015
Lights being rewired on 3rd Street
State adds budget information and teacher salaries to school rankings site
Columbia Borough School District has the second lowest average teacher salary: $55,377.
Beware ‘the blob’ that small government forms
Don't believe in the blob? Consider that Pennsylvania has 500 school districts (about one for every 25,000 people) and levies the 10th-highest state and local taxes in the U.S., according to the Tax Foundation. Compare that to Florida, No. 31 in state and local taxes, with only 67 school districts (one per 280,000 people).
The blob created by the mass of educational bureaucracy in the 16 school districts in Lancaster County alone — 16 superintendents, 144 school board members and hundreds of administrators — leads to public institutions that are collectively bigger, costlier, fractured and more resistant to reform.
Hempfield superintendent hire not so super on transparency
The Hempfield School Board's hiring of Chris Adams was probably the right move. Too bad it was not done in a transparent way aimed at building trust and cooperation among parents and residents.
Artist and teacher Dorothy Cooper's collection will be for sale at Garth Gallery Friday and Saturday
Dorothy Cooper's collection will be for sale in an exhibit at Garth Gallery, 22 S. 2nd St., Columbia, from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, with a wine-and-cheese reception for the artist on Friday. Proceeds from the sale will benefit an art scholarship at Columbia High School.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Gas pipeline explodes at Ross Barnett Reservoir in Mississippi
We might want to rethink that pipeline project planned to go through Lancaster County.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Vehicle accident at Chiques
Emergency crews responded to a vehicle accident on Route 441 near Chiques Rock at about 5 p.m. today.
(Submitted photos)
(Submitted photos)
What I Saw - Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Park school crossing guard protected against the cold
Screens backlit by the sun at the Turkey Hill Experience
The National Guard hasn't taken our artillery piece yet from its position on the plaza near the Veterans Memorial Bridge. That possibility was discussed at a borough council meeting last July.
Sunset as seen from Central Avenue
A new sign for Columbia
A new sign was recently installed at the Third Street exit into Columbia, next to the Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center. The sign features rotating messages promoting local businesses, as well as time and temp.
Vehicle accident at 15th & Manor
A vehicle accident class 2 involving a Subaru Legacy and an A&L Doors van occurred at about 4:40 Tuesday afternoon at 15th and Manor Streets.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Time for Lancaster County to get (fully) together on police service - LancasterOnline Editorial
Stedman favors leaving the Lancaster Bureau of Police in place and putting the rest in a single regional force. Such an approach would be a first in the region.
Such consolidation would not only save money by pooling resources and reducing overhead, Stedman said. It also would improve crime fighting by making seamless what now takes coordination across municipal lines.
MORE:
Providence Twp. defends records-review policy
Well, this is a draconian measure. What are they afraid of? It's even easier to get public information in Columbia. (Some of it, anyway.)
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Providence Township supervisors will continue to require appointments to review public documents at the township municipal office.
The township also requires the presence of a supervisor to answer any questions or view township records or documents.
Three sites added to Historic Preservation Trust's Watch List of 10 most threatened properties
One site no longer on the list is an early 19th century log house and root cellar at 522 Norwood Road, Columbia, that can't be restored or moved by its new owners, Historic Preservation president Lisa Horst said.
Two other properties no longer on the list are the 1870 David Mayer farmstead, 1580 Fruitville Pike, Manheim Township, and the former 1895 Long Funeral Home, 855 Chestnut St., Columbia.
Both properties are being restored for new uses, Horst said.
Car accident on 462
Slippery road conditions may have contributed to this car accident near 14th Street and Route 462 early this afternoon.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Progress on the Route 441 bypass project
A pair of immense trapezoidal monoliths has appeared recently at the Route 441 bypass construction site near the Route 441 overpass.
Girls on ice
Shortly after noon today, emergency personnel responded to a call involving two girls walking on the ice on the Susquehanna River, just north of the Veterans Memorial Bridge. The girls began walking back to shore after Columbia Borough Police sounded a siren and motioned for them to return. Neither was injured, and no charges appear to have been filed.
Councillor sets the record straight on Columbia budget
A recap of last Wednesday's borough council meeting:
All seven council members voted to override Mayor Lutz's veto of the borough's 2015 budget at a special Columbia Borough Council meeting last Wednesday night. Surprisingly, the mayor supported an override of the veto.
"I would suggest you override my veto, so that we can get on with the budget. The purpose of my veto is to have the discussion that we're having here now," Lutz said, citing the need for transparency in the budget process. He suggested that council have separate budget meetings in which residents can comment, because the borough "owes it to the taxpayers." Lutz also pointed out changes made to the budget without his input as another example of why increased transparency is needed.
An update:
Councillor Kelly Murphy, chairman of the finance committee, offered a timeline at Wednesday's meeting and disputed allegations regarding the lack of budget meetings and transparency:
August 2014 Meeting of the Whole: First draft budget was submitted and discussed.
September 2014 Meeting of the Whole: Second draft budget was submitted; a lot of input from all department managers was received. During this meeting, then-Borough Manager Sam Sulkosky said he had not yet looked at the budget and council subsequently took action with the him, asking him to review the draft budget.
October 2014 Meeting of the Whole: The borough manager presented council with a budget calling for the elimination of positions (personnel decisions that council was unaware of) within borough departments. Since these were personnel issues, a second meeting was held with department managers.
November 2014 Meeting of the Whole: The final draft, which council members, the mayor, and others had in advance, was presented for review. The goal was to review the draft and return with any final concerns or issues so that at December 2014 regular council meeting the budget could be advertised.
December 2014 Meeting of the Whole: Council convened to pass the budget. Murphy said he had not received any additional comments during that time, until the mayor's decision regarding the police cruiser.
Murphy said that as new drafts were developed, they were provided to council members and the mayor for comments. Any comments received were addressed. He named three criteria by which the budget was crafted: must have, like/need to have, and wish list. Wish list items were the ones scrutinized most closely. "You have to look at things from a business-like philosophy," he said. Murphy reminded council that this year is going to be "trying" due to borough projects, and ongoing negotiations with the police and LASA, among other issues. He assured everyone present that council was transparent during the budget process, opportunities were given for people to speak, and nothing was done in secret.
Murphy also referenced the borough's $3.2 million reserve. He said he believes that the best plan for the money would be to invest it in the development of the town to make it more desirable to live in and bring businesses here. He also reminded those present that the reserve would be "knocked down" to $2.5 million next year, even if everything falls into place. The issue facing council was whether to raise taxes or take $700,000 from the reserve. He said that if they hadn't worked so hard over the last eight years to get the reserve to this point, they would have had no choice but to raise taxes this year. Murphy recounted how the reserve stood at only $424,000 when he was elected to council in 2008, and council at that time needed to borrow money to pay bills, including payroll.
Murphy admonished anyone seeking unnecessary items for their department. "I'm tired of hearing about this 'Just because it's there, departments or folks or people in here think they're entitled to some of that money,'" Murphy said. "That money was hard-earned by being very responsible with our budgets, being very prudent with what we spent, and didn't get there without a lot of pain. I feel it's the best budget we could get."
WGAL's Janelle Stelson makes on-air racist remark; Howard Stern comments
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