Council adopts budget, ups millage .2 / By Martha Knight

The Port Allegany Borough Council voted Monday night to adopt a $1,984,095 budget for 2014, and to keep taxes the same except for a .2 mill increase for fire protection.

The total real estate tax rate will be 6.43 mills for all purposes. The General Fund rate will be 4.675 mills. Millage for street lighting will be .39; fire protection, 1 mill (up from .8); and library, .365.

Port Allegany Fire Department chief Fred Roys, on hand to present the monthly fire department report, thanked the borough council for its increased financial support.

Council member Dave Fair asked about the possible shortfalls in revenue that might occur because the borough’s revenue from Earned Income Tax, collected by a contractor for a county-wide system, had “fallen into a negative account” status, according to borough secretary Sue Roboski.

That report, extracted by Fair through questions, was by way of explanation of news stories about some 250 of Liberty Township’s residents’ EIT having been credited to the borough because their mailing comes through the Port
Allegany post office.

Liberty Township had been shorted more than $40,000. The funds are being returned through the contracted tax receiving agency over time, through receipts that would have been due to the borough but will be used for restitution to Liberty Township.

Previously, no official mention of the EIT situation had been made at a borough council meeting. But it will not cause a shortfall, borough manager Richard Kallenborn said. This coming year the borough will not have any paving projects, he said, and this past season’s project had cost the borough much less than expected. In fact, it had been paid for entirely from Liquid Fuels Tax money, routed through the county to the borough. Thus the local funds were not used, and can be carried over into 2014.

Kallenborn’s monthly report included a note of disappointment about the rejection of the joint application of the borough and Liberty Township for funding for  major water and sewer projects.

Kallenborn attached to his written report a list of the projects that had been approved for H2O and PennVest grants, and noted that most of them went to municipalities that are south of U.S. Route 80. Also, municipalities within the areas represented by state legislators who opposed the transportation infrastructure bill with its 28-cent gasoline tax feature had been “mostly” excluded.  “You can draw your own conclusions,” Kallenborn told council.

Kallenborn said PennDOT has changed its plan for rerouting traffic during a 2015 project to replace the South Main Street bridge over Lillibridge Creek. Present plans call for “an immediate run-around west of the present bridge.” This was seen as a much better arrangement.

The neighbor of Joan Chimenz, has built a “very nice” fence along the property line, following Kallenborn’s request, he informed council. Mrs. Chimenz had attended last month’s council meeting, complaining that earlier visits to the borough building had not solved the matter. Kallenborn had disagreed with her account of the visits and results. “She was confused,” he said this time, but said that she now is pleased with matters. Council member Lynn Farber thanked Kallenborn.

Kallenborn noted that street light banners downtown have been replaced with seasonal ones. A spruce tree for the Gazebo has been donated by Robert and Cindy Buckheit of Harrison Street in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Sawyer, Mrs. Buckheit’s parents. The Sawyers planted the tree in their yard 50 years ago.

Later George Riley told the press that the Lions Club is putting up the lights in the downtown area, particularly on and near the Square, and will decorate the donated  tree in the Gazebo.

Council approved about $2,075 in the aggregate for a Christmas bonus for borough employees. Library employees will be included, at a lesser amount each. Borough employees received turkeys at Thanksgiving time, which came to $414.27.

There will be a Christmas party for all borough employees, council members, the outgoing mayor and mayor-elect, and retirees, Kallenborn announced. It will be held at the Moose Family Center beginning at 12:30 p.m. December 24.

New dashboard cameras will be purchased for the patrol cars, at a combined cost of $675, according to the bill list. Chief Dave Distrola said that the cameras will be ordered following council approval. The police department has not had working cameras for the past several years. Those used previously wore out and were not replaced at the time.

Dennis Avenue resident Mahlon Davenport made another appearance before council, as he continues to seek action by the borough to accomplish the drainage project promised to him and his wife Sylvia in 1991.

Davenport has made repeated pleas to the council to make good on promises he says have been made over the years, to install a catch basin. Because this has not been done, some water runs across the foot of his driveway instead of through the sluice he had installed, creating a low spot and making it impossible to have the driveway paved. Recent repaving of the street exacerbated the problem.

Davenport reminded council that he and other Dennis Avenue residents donated the street to the borough, along with rights-of-way for borough services.

Last month’s complaint by Davenport was followed the next day by delivery and application of some “berming material,” which Davenport says created a deeper mud hole.

Fair asked Davenport to describe the situation in additional detail, then asked Kallenborn for affirmation that the matter will be attended to.

Kallenborn said no project will be undertaken at this time of year. Come spring, he said, “I will look at it.” As Fair continued to ask whether the requested catch basin would be installed, Kallenborn kept repeating “I will look at it,” more and more loudly, until council president gaveled for order.

“I did not get an answer,” Fair pointed out. Johnson said he realized that, and added that it did not appear that Fair was going to get an answer.

Outgoing mayor Don Carley said, “I would like to thank the people that brought me here 30 years ago. It has been an honor and a pleasure” to serve the community as police officer, chief and mayor. Carley added, speaking to Distrola, “Thanks, Dave, for your fine work as officer and chief.”

Johnson added thanks on behalf of the council, noting that Carley has been mayor for six years. Carley did not seek another term in the recent municipal election.

Roboski informed the recently elected or re-elected borough officials that they will have to provide notarized statements of current residency in the borough, so that their certificates of election will be accepted and they can be sworn into office for the terms that will begin January 1, 2014.

Riley was elected mayor. Fair, Johnson, Judy Taylor and Sam Dynda were re-elected to the council.