Mazurie Steps Down As Spring Township Manager

Editor’s note:  Interesting that this 18 square mile township of 27,000 people and 90 employees found a manager for $87,000.  The new guy is starting at less money that than retiring manager’s salary.  Guess the Spring Township supervisors don’t operate like Pottstown Borough Council and GROSSLY overpay their employees.

Thirty-six years ago, Leon W. Mazurie II came up with a clever plan to nab the job as Spring Township’s first parks and recreation director.

He vowed to find the money to pay the $9,500 starting salary.

Mazurie, then 24, called the township municipal office after reading an article stating that supervisors might start a parks and recreation department.  He was a part-time community director for Reading’s Keffer Park at the time.

“I told the township I would assist them in finding federal money to pay for the director’s salary,” said Mazurie, now 60.  “I guess deep down I was hoping I would be selected.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=468925

Restoring Some Shade To Shillington

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  Sounds like the good folks in Shillington did some research when selecting their curbside trees and chose appropriate trees with the help of a professional arborist, who is also a tree committee member.  Imagine that, Tom.

Despite sunshine and other signs of spring this week, residents of northern Shillington may have found themselves spending a little more time in the shade than usual.

That’s because the borough road crew planted 34 curbside trees on willing residents’ properties as part of an effort by the Shillington’s Tree Advisory Committee.  Volunteers will plant eight more trees today.

A state grant and some borough funds paid for the trees.  This is the committee’s second round of planting since it formed about 11/2 years ago.  The group planted 45 new trees in Shillington Park in October.

The committee now is focusing on different sections of the borough for each round of new trees it’s able to buy. Committee members go door to door to find homeowners willing to accept the trees.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=468927

April Fools? Berks Tax Form Explained, Two Ways

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Stratix Systems, a Wyomissing-based computer storage and printing service, is normally a very helpful partner to the Berks Earned Income Tax Bureau.

“This year they were a little too helpful,” said Kathy Weist, executive director of the Berks EIT, tax collector for municipalities and school districts in Berks County.

Weist blames Stratix for a mistake on the 2012 tax form that switched instructions for Line 14 and Line 16, which could cause taxpayers to expect a refund when they actually owe tax.

“But there was absolutely no malice involved,” Weist said. “The person involved was trying to make our new forms conform to the language on the state forms.”

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=468960