Forks Township Supervisors Approve 13 Percent Tax Increase

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

Property taxes will go up 13 percent next year in Forks Township.

Last week, the board of supervisors approved a budget that includes the tax increase and an additional $700,000 in expenditures.

The extra money will pay for new vehicles and equipment or repairs.

Finance Manager Jim Farley said vehicle prices continue to go up despite the economy. He estimated a new, fully loaded dump truck with a plow could cost $500,000 and a fire engine could cost as much as $2 million.

Read more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/easton/index.ssf/2013/12/forks_township_supervisors_app_4.html

Commonwealth Medical College Taken Off Probation

The Commonwealth Medical College moved a step closer to full accreditation on Thursday when it announced the national medical school accrediting body has lifted the college’s probationary status and granted it provisional accreditation.

The advance comes a year after the Liaison Committee for Medical Education placed the school on probation largely because of concerns about its financial stability.

With the new status – a rung higher than the school’s preliminary accreditation before the probation period – the accrediting body also determined that the college has the resources to expand its class size from 65 to 100 medical degree students beginning in 2013.

“This is an external statement by an accrediting body that this school is solid,” Lois Margaret Nora, M.D., the college’s interim president and dean, said. “For anyone who has any questions about permanence, this is just a major statement.”

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/commonwealth-medical-college-taken-off-probation-1.1329922