Newtown Township Mysteries: An Update

Here is an update of the mysteries that were noted in my last post. Since nothing was said publicly at the Board of Supervisors’ Monday meeting about the status of Newtown Police Chief Anderson, I asked a supervisor after the meeting what was going on with the chief. 

I was told that there would be a public hearing concerning the chief’s employment status that would take place. The supervisor did not offer when that public hearing would occur. In further conversations with residents, I also learned that the chief was on administrative leave with pay.

Apparently, this administrative leave came after a suspension without pay. It is still very confusing. It appears a personnel action has taken place. However, unlike other personnel actions which have taken place in public, this action has not been public. 

Township Manager Receives Raise and Bonus

At Monday's meeting, the supervisors took action on the township manager’s salary. Mike Trio received a $7,000 bonus as well as a $5,000 raise.  This brings his salary to $105,000 per year. According to supervisors Chairman Joe Catania, “ He was paid on a temp basis of $75,000 per year. When we raised him to $100,000 he was told that either we would make up the difference for the first three months at the end of his first year by bonus or otherwise.The $5,000 increase starts June 1, 2012. The bonus/retro amounts to $2,083/month for three months when he was paid $75,000. $25,000 divided by 12 times 3.” 

It seems Mr. Trio was told that they would make up the difference, but this was not a public commitment when Mr. Trio was hired as the interim township manager.

There seems to be inconsistency in the way in which personnel actions are communicated to the public. Some take place in public, some do not. Since taxpayers foot the bill, it sure would be great if all personnel actions were made public.

SAP Asks To Have Their Sewer Bill Reduced

There was no update of the mystery of the inaccurate sewer bills. However, there was discussion of SAP’s desire to have their sewer bill reduced. Seems to me that like many other homeowners, SAP has determined that some of the water that they use does not flow into the sewer system. 

This surely is the case as it is with many homeowners. Water that is used as irrigation on landscapes as well as water used to fill a pool would not make it into the sewer system.

When the sewer rates were set, resident Ray Lopez asked that the supervisors to consider this fact and try to figure out a way to fairly bill sewer rent. There has been no discussion of this issue since that meeting. Now, the supervisors seem willing to take up the issue presented by SAP.  P

lease consider contacting the Supervisors and ask that they look into this sewer rate issue for all residents, not just SAP.

Why Judge's Ruling of Wyola School Was Not Stated in Public

Finally, in answer to why township residents were not told at the last meeting that the judge had ruled in the hearing concerning the township’s desire to sell the Wyola School free of use limitations?

Mr. Catania indicated at Monday’s meeting that the township did not have the ruling prior to the meeting. Yet, this information was  

Other than this update, no other information about the sale of the Wyola School took place. Questions remain. You would think that township officials would want the most information possible about this sale to be made available. You would think that the township supervisors’ decision to sell this unique, valuable and irreplaceable township asset would be a last resort for revenue. 

And if the township was so desperate for one time revenue why wouldn’t they try to sell this asset for the highest price possible? The Wyola School house costs the township nothing to keep and generates annual revenue. Here in Newtown, they have not provided information with times and dates for prospective buyers to inspect the property. They still have not publicly made the decision as to how the sale will occur. 

What is going on?