KUTZTOWN'S FINANCES

KUTZTOWN’S FINANCES 3-1-10
With the caps coming off the electric rates all the local electric companies are soliciting new subscribers and the cost of a KWH they are advertising is between 9 and 11 cents. My bills for November and December were 18.19 and 16.61 cents respectively.
The Borough’s Real Estate Tax rate increased from 1.2 mils to 2.8 mils in the last few years which means a house assessed at $100,000 had its tax increased from $120 to $280 annually.
The Borough also raised the Water and Sewer rates. The Borough also bills the Water and Sewer subscribers monthly rather than quarterly so they can spend it faster.
How long can the elected officials of this Borough spend $4,200 per resident annually and continuously raise all taxes, fees, permits etc. And with a debt of $14 million the yearly debt service is $1.2 million annually which means the monthly payment is $100,000 a month.
To add insult to injury on top of all these increases and the local electric providers price at 6 or 7 cents cheaper than the Borough, the Borough raised our rate 2.5% for recreation which was reflected in my latest bill.
After 7 years and about $400,000 squandered away on 2 computer firms the first combined Borough bill was 2 weeks late and does not adequately explain the charges.
The above is just the tip of the iceberg, and all of the above increases are necessary to finance Hometown Utilicom which still loses $1 million a year and pay Borough Manager Khalife more than $100,000 a year and HU Director more than $80,000 a year to supervise it.
In my opinion the Borough is on the verge of bankruptcy and all of the internal departments transfers of funds for rents, fees, services, etc. along with altering the foremen’s reports are illegal and the Mayor, the Borough Council, some Borough Management employees, the Borough Auditors and Borough Solicitors are all aware of what is going on. I state again there has never been a complete financial report on the Telecom Business venture and the facts about the HU- Apex fiasco have never been made public.
Has Apex paid the tapping fees and other obligations to the Borough?
I have much more to say, I will be right back because the elected officials of this Borough are mandated to explain to the residents what is going on with our money.
Sincerely Jerry
409 West Main Street
Kutztown, Pa 19530
610-683-7977
kmayor@ptd.net
website www.marinoreport.com
Comments welcome. Thanks

BOROUGH CODE MEANS NOTHING

Borough Code Means Nothing 2-2-10
Recently there was an article in The Reading Eagle that stated the Reading City Council held two Council Meetings that violated the Sunshine Laws. The City Solicitor approved of the meetings knowing that they were illegal. The article also stated that there were no penalties for the violations.
This is no surprise because there are no penalties for many Borough Code violations. One very obvious example is the Borough Code states that the Borough Audit must be made public 90 days after December 31. There is no penalty if it is not made public in 90 days. Kutztown has violated the Borough Code many times and the Attorney General, Auditor General, the District Attorney, the DCED and the Ethics Commission will not investigate any complaints.
The Borough has awarded contracts with rigged or no bids and no signed contracts. The Borough continuously transfers funds illegally within the Borough Departments. The Borough also falsifies the Budget, publishes fraudulent financial reports and alters foremen reports. Also why does a citizen have to go to the Right to Know Law Office to obtain information that should be published periodically?
No Law Enforcement Agency will look into these violations because all the Boroughs, Cities and Townships are violating the laws. And if a citizen wants to take a municipality to court for information they would have to retain and pay a lawyer.


Gennaro A. Marino P.E.
610-683-7977
Kmayor@ptd.net
www.marinoreport.com