Citizen Comments, Part 2, 1/22/2019 Columbia Borough Council Meeting
Mary Wickenheiser: "Well all I ever heard about Social Security was, it was to help you in your retirement. It wasn't supposed to be your entire retirement. So somehow it has reached that point, and it's sad that it has reached that point, and I'm sorry there are people who are in that position, but the borough needs to do what is best for the borough."
Mary Wickenheiser said she supports what previous speakers Taylor Callaway and Kay Leader said in favor of the recent tax hike. Wickenheiser, who noted she was a member of council for 13 years, said that back then, council had resisted raising municipal taxes due to the school district's tax increases - in order to avoid overtaxing residents. "We know the school district's going to raise the taxes," she recalled. "We can't hit our citizens with two tax hikes." She added that holding the line on taxes was what got the borough to this point. "That's what got us here. We were too good."
Wickenheiser said she read that people are saying they can't afford the recent increase, because they're on a fixed income. "I'm on a fixed income. Well all I ever heard about Social Security was, it was to help you in your retirement. It wasn't supposed to be your entire retirement. So somehow it has reached that point, and it's sad that it has reached that point, and I'm sorry there are people who are in that position, but the borough needs to do what is best for the borough."
Wickenheiser turned to council and said, "Truthfully, you guys are really taking the heat on this one, and it shouldn't just be you who are taking the heat. We had a previous borough manager. He was there for how many years that I was there. Mr. Doutrich sat on council while I was there. He was appointed to fill a position . . . You guys are taking the heat for something you inherited from the past. And I commend you for having the guts to step forward and approve this tax increase."
Mindy Blasick: "There isn't one citizen that doesn't want us to thrive and benefit from that, but it feels like you're sucking the blood out of the citizens, to do it, and you don't want to listen. Your minds are made up."
Mindy Blasick said she has a wide range of sentiments on the tax issue. She quoted Winston Churchill: "There's a price to pay for greatness, and that's responsibility." Blasick then expanded on that sentiment - and on Wickenheiser's statement, "Whether you inherited it or however you got it, it's your responsibility to maintain this town." She explained further, "There isn't one citizen that doesn't want us to thrive and benefit from that, but it feels like you're sucking the blood out of the citizens, to do it, and you don't want to listen. Your minds are made up."
She said council should have started managing their budget like a household budget 10 years ago. Blasick said that due to the tax increase, she will now need to work more overtime and won't be able to help businesses. "It's just very frustrating," she said. "You can see it from both sides, but there has to be a middle ground." Blasick noted that the issues are dividing us. She also believes the borough is taking a gamble. "It's a great risk, and we're all going to pay for it."
Travis McCarty: "The buzz in Lancaster is honestly this town, so if you don't think it's moving in the right direction, you're wrong, because every person that comes in that bar is talking about the waterfront expansion, the hotel, everything, so if you're against it, by all means you have no idea the buzz that's getting created everywhere else in this county."
Travis McCarty asked residents to stop the name-calling on social media, because he finds it "unbecoming." He said the remarks reach beyond just the people in Columbia. McCarty said he wants to open a restaurant here, but his investors are reluctant "because of the language." He said they are now going to open the restaurant in Lancaster. He urged residents to treat each other with respect "and show outsiders who we are."
McCarty said he works for Columbia Kettle Works, and the establishment just opened its second location in Lancaster. "The buzz in Lancaster is honestly this town, so if you don't think it's moving in the right direction, you're wrong, because every person that comes in that bar is talking about the waterfront expansion, the hotel, everything, so if you're against it, by all means you have no idea the buzz that's getting created everywhere else in this county," McCarty said. "Lititz is talking about it. Ephrata is talking about it."
He suggested that residents might not understand the different taxes and offered to talk to them after the meeting "to break down some of the stuff you may not understand as citizens."
Council heard citizen comments at the January 22, 2019 Columbia Borough Council meeting.
Mike Shomody said he did the calculations and found that "$12 [per month] is what we're getting really upset about." He said the tax increase is the cost of doing business. "It has to go through, because the day-to-day operations have to be taken care of, and that does come from the general fund," he said, noting salaries and cost of living increases.
Of the loan fund, he said, "I look at this as an investment to the future of Columbia Borough. If we don't invest in commercial now, we will end up turning around, no one will move into this town, and then the buildings become vacant and fall over, and we have every other taxpayer in here bitching about that, then we'll pay for taxpayer dollars to demolish it and clean it up."
[A resident then stood up and began walking out, proclaiming, "Twelve dollars! 12 lunches for senior citizens. They're not supposed to eat for two weeks?!"]
Nate Bunty: "This isn't just a sudden thing. Columbia has been on an upward trajectory for several years, and people are starting to notice."
Nate Bunty said he has spoken in favor of what council has been doing over the last several years. "This isn't just a sudden thing. Columbia has been on an upward trajectory for several years, and people are starting to notice," he said. "I've gone to networking meetings with commercial lenders, realtors, business developers for 10 to 15 years. Lately, over the past several years, the buzz has been Columbia." Bunty said the negative perception of Columbia is "starting to go away."
Bunty noted that 96,000 people were on the trail last year and speculated: "Imagine if we build that expansion. 150 - 200,000 people might use the trail." Bunty is bullish about Columbia's future. "I think we're about to hit a hockey stick. We're going to shoot up. And again, I think those types of opportunities - those types of environments - scare some people. Change always scares some people."
He quoted author Seth Godin: "Those who accept uncertainty are the pathfinders for the rest of us." Bunty continued, "So if we accept some uncertainty, we can get pathfinder as a community. Some of our business leaders in the community are accepting that uncertainty. They're investing hundreds of thousands of their own dollars to change things in town here and accept that uncertainty and be a pathfinder for the community."
Sharon Lintner: "I want to see it thrive, but use your own money. Don't use ours. I'd like to have mine to put into my own home which is also my investment."
Sharon Lintner said she was born in Columbia. She told council she has made a huge investment in this town. As she was about to continue, Bunty shouted from the back of the room and was admonished by her and Murphy. "$12 a month is not what we're upset about," Lintner said. "We're upset about where and why - where it's going. I invested in my property. The developer in question will have a tax abatement. I will be paying more taxes while he pays less."
She pushed back on McCarty's suggestion that residents don't understand the difference between municipal and school taxes. "It doesn't matter if they're separate. We pay them all. I think it's wrong to take our taxes and give it to someone who stands to profit off our back." She said the ever-increasing taxes are "eroding away our lifestyle."
Touching on Wickenheiser's statements, Lintner said that not everyone is privileged to have access to a pension. "Fixed incomes for some are different for others," she said. She also explained that she is not against development in Columbia and has defended the town for years. "I want to see it thrive, but use your own money. Don't use ours. I'd like to have mine to put into my own home which is also my investment."
