Posts

Agenda - Meeting of the Whole October 26, 2015

Image

About Town

Image
Some scenes from around town today . . . Checking a light at the plaza Route 441 bypass work   The commemorative bench in front of Stover's is gone.  Sources tell the Spy it was taken away due to ongoing vandalism and loitering. Work continues at 855 Chestnut. Leaf pickup Now, that's interesting.

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

Image
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 recent...

Columbia Happenings today Saturday, October 24

Image
1-4 p.m.

Walk-through on new bypass Sunday, Nov. 1

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

Columbia Happenings today Friday, October 23

Image
And Fourth Friday: