Upper Nazareth Township Meetings

January 4, 2021 UNT Supervisor’s Meeting

Reorganization Meeting

Mike Rinker was elected as Chairman and Robert Disbrow at Vice Chairman for 2021.

The Supervisors approved:

• Professional Appointments
  • Gary Asteak receives $175 – $190/hour as Township Solicitor
• Volunteer Appointments
• Compensation
  • Township manager’s salary – $90,640
  • FT Chief of Police – $101,033
  • FT Public Works Director – $80,649
  • Township Auditors – $10/hour
  • Planning Commission – $30 per meeting attended per member
• Zoning Hearing Board
  • $30 per hearing date
  • $116.67 per hearing date attend for the secretary

Approval to set up a signed account for donations to the Police.  Someone recently donated $2,500 to the Police Department.

Regular Business Meeting

Courtesy of the Floor

I commented that the Supervisor’s decision to put the Library tax onto a separate invoice was not a good choice because:

• It will cost more with increased fees for the tax collector for preparing the bills and  printing/mailing
• Mortgage companies will not refuse to pay a line item in a municipal tax bill (which is what Tax Collector Tracy Adamski claimed during the November 2020 meeting)
• Other local municipalities which levy these taxes include them as line items in either the school tax or the municipal tax, they don’t issue a separate bill
• If the tax is kept separate, the millage rate reported by the Assessment office may not be correct

I also reported that a Right-to-Know request I filed with the township office revealed that Ms. Adamski provided no documentation to the Supervisors when she advocated for a separate invoice in November.  Scott Sylvanius said that he did not agree with issuing a separate bill for the Library tax.

Jason Mohap asked about some Right-to-Know requests he’d filed about text messages and a letter authored by Zoning Officer Sloe.

Editor’s Note: I would not describe the responses Jason or I received from Mr. Asteak as respectful or polite.

Supervisor’s Comments

Robert Disbrow thanked the municipal employees for their work, especially the recent snow removal.

Your Tax Dollars at Work

Approval to hire a someone for a position in Public Works at $19.78/hour.

The Supervisor’s voted to table a vote on the Police Department purchasing 3 sets of Haenni Track Scales. Chief Cope said that the truck traffic is destroying our roads and it’s only going to get worse when they build the new warehouse on Gun Club Road.

Another resident tried to make a comment on this issue but was cut off due to a possible technical glitch.

Becky Bartlett covers these meetings because citizens have a right to know what their government is doing.