Tuesday, January 17, 2012
West Chester Mayor Carolyn Comitta has released the legal brief for the petition to the State Supreme Court.
West Chester Mayor Carolyn Comitta released a copy of the legal brief filed as part of a petition to the State Supreme Court via e-mail Tuesday. Mayor Comitta will testify before the Supreme Court on Monday Jan. 23. Recently, the Pennsylvania Legislature approved a plan that would redraw the lines for the state’s legislative districts. According to this new plan the Borough of West Chester would be split between two districts. Currently, West Chester borough resides in one district. The brief, prepared by attorney Sam Stretton, argues that the new redistricting plan for West Chester violates the state constitution. The state constitution says that a municipality cannot be split unless it is absolutely necessary. Stretton also argues …
Monday, January 16, 2012
West Chester Mayor Carolyn Comitta sits down to talk about the borough's petition to the state supreme court about redistricting.
Mayor Comitta will petition the state supreme court along with several other communities in the state to overturn the legislative redistricting on Jan. 23. Patch: Who exactly filing the appeal? The borough? Private citizens? Mayor Comitta: What I have been told is that it’s not an appeal. It’s a petition. It will be considered and presented to the Supreme Court. I’m not sure if it will be heard by the whole court. It’s not exactly like we’re making this up as we go along, but it’s a process you go through only once every 10 years. We’re sort of learning as we go. Patch: So then who are the petitioners? Mayor Comitta: It needs to be individuals. My name is the first name, and there are about 10 of us with myself and council …
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The checklist is an educational tool to help builders construct more sustainable buildings.
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Editor's note: The following is a press release from BLUER West Chester Borough Leaders United for Emissions Reduction (BLUER) is pleased to announce that the Green Building Checklist has been added to the Borough’s land development approval process. The West Chester Borough Council voted to approve the checklist on November 16, 2011. The Green Building Checklist is an educational tool for commercial property owners and developers to improve sustainable practices while they are undergoing the Borough design review and permitting processes. Similar to the LEED checklist, the Green Building Checklist contains a series of questions dealing with energy efficiency, site design, materials, water efficiency and indoor air quality. It features a …
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Borough Council passed its 2012 budget last week. Here's a look at where the money is going and how much municipal services cost.
The West Chester Borough Council unanimously passed the 2012 budget last Wednesday with a total operating costs of $31,142,797 and a tax rate of 6.96 mills, the same rate as last year. Budget The budget for the borough is broken out into funds. Here is the list of fund by name and budget. Revenus Here are the top three revenue generators for the three largest funds. Costs Here are the three largest costs for each of the three largest funds. For more information on the West Chester budget please review the attached PDF of the entire document.
Monday, November 7, 2011
The Public Works Committee discussed charging for trash on Monday.
With the echo of last winter’s discontent still in their ears, the West Chester Borough Council Public Works Committee reopened the issue of instituting a “pay-for-throw” trash program in 2012. “I think we should look into this,” said committee member Sue Bayne. “It could drop taxes, and it would allow us to fund some of our infrastructure repairs.” Last winter, borough council proposed something similar, but backed down over resident outcry and instead decided to raise taxes. “I think we have a unique opportunity here,” said committee member John Manion. “But any new fee or program we institute is going to be perceived as a tax.” According to borough manager Ernie McNeely a “pay-for-throw” program could bring in as much as $800,000. The…
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Borough officials cancel the parade due to inclement weather.
West Chester borough officials have canceled tonight's Halloween Parade due to inclement weather. The event, scheduled for Thursday at 7 pm., was cancelled because there is a 50 percent chance of rain, and the National Weather Service has issued a freeze watch in effect from late Thursday until Friday morning. Temperatures are expected to plummet tonight, and in some areas could drop below freezing. Unfortunately, there is no rain date for the Halloween Parade. Residents are asked to call the Parks and Recreation Department if they have further questions.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The conversation ranged from pension plans to storm water fees.
The West Chester Borough Financial Advisory Committee met on Wednesday, and because I don’t know how to parse what happened into a news story that would make any kind of sense, I am going to use some trusty old bullet points.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Borough Finance Committee moves ahead with new map.
The West Chester Borough Council Finance Committee voted to move forward with the development of a new map for use by the borough and the Chamber of Commerce. The new map will feature information about the borough's history, its development and its current state. The map will be produced at no cost to the borough, and it will be completely paid for by advertisers. The only cost the borough will incur is if it decides to mail the map out to the 4,500 addresses for borough residents. The map will be used primarily as a promotional tool, distributed to new residents and business so that they may get a lay of the land. The last time the borough ordered a run of maps like this, between 6,000-6,500 maps were published, and it took around two …
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
The controversial final land development plan for the 220 East Chestnut Street gets committee approval. Council approval may come next week.
The West Chester Borough Planning and Zoning Committee approved the final land development plan for the property located at 220 East Chestnut Street on Tuesday. Residents living nearby the property had objected to the construction of an apartment building on the site, claiming that the property was improperly zoned. “This issue has been dealt with, and I feel that anything else is just water over the dam,” said council member Jim Jones. Still, borough resident and former council member Bill Scott objected to the building. “The borough shouldn’t approve this building because it’s not compliant with the zoning,” Scott said. Scott argued that the current plans call for living units on the first floor of the building, which is against the …
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The two new trucks could cos as much as $1.6 million.
The West Chester Borough Finance Committee discussed purchasing two new fire trucks for the fire department during their regular monthly meeting Tuesday night. The two fire trucks that the borough would replace are around 20 years old, and it could cost as much as $1.6 million to replace them. “The borough code says that if you want to purchase the trucks you must have the money allocated,” said borough manager Ernie McNeely. “So if you are going to purchase the trucks the budget needs to be changed.” The borough has a contract with neighboring townships that use the West Chester Fire Department services that will help alleviate some of the costs. “Our agreement with the other townships is part of a five-year-plan that says they will pay …
Shannon Trego
7:06 pm on Thursday, October 27, 2011
BOO! for not having a rain date...it's too bad, my kids were really looking forward to it. more ›