Patriot Editor 12-10-11

December 10, 2011
The Patriot Editor fax no. 610-369-0233
Dear Editor,
Thank you for the very informative article about the Kutztown Borough 2012 Budget in the December 1, 2011 edition of The Patriot. The Borough informed you that the water rate will be increased 40%, the sewer rate 30%, the electric rate 4% and the trash rate 25%.
The article also stated that the Borough would fund the Water Dept. with a $6 million loan and the Sewer Dept. with a $6 million loan through bond issues. This will increase the Borough Debt to more than $25 million and the loan payment (debt service) will be more than $2 million annually. That is $400 per year per resident.
These utility rate increases were inevitable because the Borough has been illegally funding the Telecommunications Department with utility funds. The independent Auditor Long & Barrell, Borough Solicitor Mooney and the Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl are all aware of this Borough procedure. The Borough has never and has no plan to publish a financial report on Telecommunications.
With a Budget of $32 million and a population of 5,000, the Borough spends about $6,400 per resident. Reading Pennsylvania, a distressed city and also the United States’ poorest city, spends $912 per resident with a population of 80,000 and a budget of $73 million.
A debt of $25 million means the Borough borrowed $5,000 per resident. This situation is beyond reality and common sense and can not be sustained.
Gennaro A. Marino P.E.
409 West Main Street
Kutztown, Pa 19530
610-683-7977
www.marinoreport.com