My last few posts consisted of interesting debates relating to the Antietam Lake drama. I still believe that we are facing a serious problem if the County takes over the land. What it comes down to is that Antietam does not want the land developed due to the fact of already having lacked the resources for expansion in their schools. The rest of Berks County will be paying through the nose within the next couple of years to cover Antietam’s Mistake. Berks County is turning into the Pick Pocket Political Capital of Pennsylvania. 2005 will be remembered as the year corruption in all levels of government have been exposed, and the misuse of tax payer money for the very first time is called on.
Sadly the County Commissioners lack the back bone to do what is right, and we will get hit with this tax increase come 2007. It’s time for some accountability. During discussion of the last topic I mentioned about investigating Antietam School District, and the township’s Budget for the past 10 years to determine why they are in the sad shape that they are in being the highest taxed area in Berks County. If we are going to have our pockets picked again the rest of Berks County has a right to know why. I am announcing today that I will be starting an effort to probe Antietam School District, and the Townships Budget over the past 10 year to determine why they are not only the highest taxed township in the county, but that they have to shove their own mistakes on the rest of us, and the rest of this Commonwealth. I have had a few people e-mail me with accounting backgrounds interested in volunteering. I will welcome all volunteers that are interested. For those that don’t have my e-mail address it is mheckman1978@comcast.net if you are interested. I will also be putting up a web site dedicated to this project to show Berks County on our progress. I look forward to seeing what surfaces during this process.
November 22, 2005 at 6:46 pm
Matt,
I can tell you one thing that the Antietam School District did that was just plain idiotic. The sold off an old school for a song, thinking that they no longer needed it and a few years later decided to buy it back at a price that made the owner a fortune. Now they are busy spending megabucks fixing it up and finding one thing after another that needs repair but they didn’t budget for.
The mistake that you are making is claiming that the only issue that “it all comes down to” is the failures of the school district to expand. They’re doing that but not in a very cost effective way and not with the thought of adding over 500 new families to the system. That’s a totally different topic of debate.
The real issue is land preservation, and we’re talking public land, not private property. Private property rights are not involved in this case, but the effects of adding hundreds of homes and the resulting infrastructure expansion that goes with it on the backs of existing property owner’s tax bills. I’ve seen it happen with my tax bill in my township.
You seem to think we’re damned if we do and saved if we don’t. Not quite.
On the related subject of the city selling off property, has anyone noticed the little corner of the Ontelaunee Watershed that was “shed” off to Ontelaunee Twp so they can build some kind of service buildings? It’s located right on the SE corner of Route 73 and Ontelaunee Drive, just catty corner to the SV High School property. The trees have all been clear cut from what looks like a couple acres with construction set to begin at any time. I recently saw a report in the Eagle about the township wanting to buy some additional adjacent acreage that’s part of the watershed for “recreation uses”, tennis courts and hiking trails and the like.
This sale went down with hardly any notice in the newspaper. Certainly no “debate” about the worthiness of it. This land and the additional acreage sought is in a section that the Water Authority wanted to turn into a golf course a few years ago.
November 22, 2005 at 9:51 pm
The major factor that has hurt Lower Alsace(and of course Mount Penn, since it is part of the Antietam School District) is suburban sprawl out into the townships of Berks County, which had not previously had anywhere near hte infrastructure necessary for the development. Townships, by defintion, do not have enough capability to properly deal with this, and so the taxes quickly rise as this is the only way to improve infrastructure and overburdened schools.
Blame Spring Township. Blame Amity Township. Blame Exeter Township. Don’t blame the Antietam area, a very lovely place to grow up and live, for existing in an environment that scoffs at proper restrained development and funneling development towards existing cities and boroughs, and instead encourages developers and people to further eat up land and money.