Hazleton Moves Airport Project Forward

HAZLETON, PA — The City Council accepted a $1.3 million Aviation Grant Tuesday night to fund a Runway Safety Area at the City Airport.

As part of the agreement, 5 percent of the project, or $70,000, must be paid for with funds from airport revenues.

A contract for the project was awarded to the only bidder, Hazleton Site Contractors, a member of the H&K Group.

When questioned by several members of council in regard to the airport’s ability to pay for its portion of the project, city engineer Dominic Yannuzzi said the airport had a $56,000 surplus and fuel valued at $60,000, which would be sold for revenue.

Read more:

http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/153327730/Hazleton-moves-airport-project-forward

Hazleton Council Overrides Mayor’s Veto, Passes 2015 Budget

During a special meeting Friday, Hazleton City Council voted to override Mayor Joseph Yannuzzi’s veto of the council’s proposed budget and then adopted that spending plan for 2015.

It means there will be no property tax increase for city residents and it also means that council voted to allocate money for the city to hire part-time police officers.

All this happened — but not without confusion, hand wringing and much discussion.

The confusion started when council had to call Councilman Jeff Cusat in order for him to vote on agenda items. Cusat had a prior engagement and did not attend the meeting in person but did cast his votes via telephone.

Read more: http://standardspeaker.com/news/hazleton-council-overrides-mayor-s-veto-passes-2015-budget-1.1815211

Veto Sets Up Hazleton Budget Showdown

Hazleton Mayor Joseph Yannuzzi vetoed a nearly $9.3 million budget for 2015 that was ratified by city council about a week ago.

Yannuzzi announced the development in memorandums to city council on Monday and will for a second consecutive year set up a budget showdown with the governing body. A dispute over competing versions of the 2014 budget went before a judge and has not yet been resolved.

The mayor said he vetoed an ordinance that sets the tax rate and related legislation because they do not conform with the version of the budget that he presented.

Yannuzzi listed 12 reasons in a second memorandum for vetoing a fourth budget-related ordinance and argues that amendments made by council leave the city with an unbalanced budget.

Read more: http://standardspeaker.com/news/veto-sets-up-hazleton-budget-showdown-1.1812842

Hazleton Council OKs $9.28M Spending Plan

Property taxes will not increase in Hazleton in 2015, according to a tentative $9.28 million spending plan that city council approved Wednesday.

But it will cost more to sell a property.

Council approved on second reading a balanced, $9.28 million budget that eliminates a tax increase that the mayor wanted to implement for awarding raises to a handful of nonunion employees. The budget also scraps a controversial maintenance fee for the stormwater system.

The spending plan approved Wednesday makes up for that lost tax and stormwater revenue by infusing $400,000 from a defunct sewage transmission fee account into other parts of the general fund budget. The city’s share of the real estate transfer tax was also increased by 0.5 percent — to 1 percent — and boosts revenue projections by $150,000.

Read more: http://standardspeaker.com/news/hazleton-council-oks-9-28m-spending-plan-1.1804580

Hazleton Council Tables Budget Vote

Hazleton City Council is no closer to finalizing a 2015 budget.

Council voted 4-1 on Thursday to table the spending plan on second reading after voting on a number of amendments that put revenue projections some $619,000 below estimated expenditures.

Council will take another crack at amending the estimated $9.3 million spending plan on Wednesday.

The vote to shelve the budget followed a heated disagreement between Mayor Joseph Yannuzzi and council President Jack Mundie over a stormwater fee that was originally levied by a previous council majority for 2013 only — but is included in next year’s spending plan.

The debate ended with the mayor walking out of the forum during an argument with Mundie.

Read more: http://standardspeaker.com/news/hazleton-council-tables-budget-vote-1.1801694

Hazleton PA and Pottstown PA By The Numbers

Reading the City of Hazleton’s 2015 Proposed Budget got me thinking about spending and waste.  These two towns are a good comparison because of population, ethnic diversity, demographics and even physical size.  Pottstown’s budget is more than 4 times are large as Hazleton’s, so here are some numbers to ponder courtesy of http://www.CityData.com:

 

Population:

Hazleton (2012) 25,224

Pottstown (2012) 22,480

 

Races:

Hazleton –

• White alone – 14,580 (57.9%)
• Hispanic – 9,717 (38.6%)
• Black alone – 422 (1.7%)

Pottstown –

• White alone – 15,377 (68.7%)
• Black alone – 4,147 (18.5%)
• Hispanic – 1,785 (8.0%)

 

Physical size (land area):

Hazleton is 5.97 square miles

Pottstown is 4.83 square miles

 

Crime rate – U.S. average = 296.6:

Hazleton (2012) 306.3

Pottstown (2012) 434

 

Police Department size:

Hazleton – 38 officers, hiring 10 new police officers built in the $9.3 million proposed budget (they think they have a crime problem).

Pottstown -46 officers, (they don’t think they have a crime problem)

 

Unemployment:

Hazleton – July 2013, 12.8%

Pottstown – July 2013, 6.7%

 

Population density:

Hazleton – 4,222 people per square mile

Pottstown – 4,655 people per square mile

 

Municipal Budget:

Hazleton – $9.3 million (2015 Proposed budget)

Pottstown – $44.8 million (2015 Proposed budget)

 

Cost of living index:

Hazleton – 95.3 (near average, U.S. average is 100)

Pottstown – 103.7 (near average, U.S. average is 100)

 

Average home value:

Hazleton – $93,389 (2012)

Pottstown – $134,796 (2012)

 

Average rent:

Hazleton – Median gross rent in 2012: $631

Pottstown – Median gross rent in 2012: $762

 

Estimated median household income:

Hazleton – $30,492 (2012)

Pottstown – $41,864 (2012)

 

Registered sex offenders:

Hazleton – there were 10 registered sex offenders living in Hazleton, Pennsylvania as of November 10, 2014

Pottstown – there were 49 registered sex offenders living in Pottstown, Pennsylvania as of November 10, 2014

$9.3 Million Hazleton Budget Breakdown

Downtown Hazleton, PA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A $9.3 million budget proposal prepared by administrators in Hazleton for the upcoming year was developed to more accurately reflect costs incurred in 2013 rather than keep pace with competing budgets submitted this year by the mayor and council, a top city administrator said.

Acting City Administrator Tom Pribula said he looked beyond a year-long budget dispute between the mayor and council and instead focused on 2013 actual expenses when developing a budget for 2015.

“I would say it’s a pretty reasonable budget,” Pribula said of the 2015 proposal. “I would not categorize any fluff, per se, that’s in it. My philosophy from doing budgets for 30-some years is be realistic to the conservative side on your revenues. You don’t want to over-estimate because if you don’t get them, then you don’t have the cash.”

While examining budget trends from previous years, Pribula found that some line item reductions that council and the mayor presented in competing budgets for 2014 weren’t in line with actual expenditures.

Read more: http://standardspeaker.com/news/9-3-million-hazleton-budget-breakdown-1.1785654

Hazleton Moves To Save Money On Fire, Police Pensions

Downtown Hazleton, PA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HAZLETON, PA — The city council approved use of a 75 percent amortization option to calculate its 2015 Minimum Municipal Obligation for the city’s non-uniformed, fire and police pension plans on Tuesday.

Don Williamson, ASCO Financial Services Group president, said although the city status as a distressed city has progressed from Level 3 to Level 2, it is still eligible to contribute to its MMO at a discounted rate for the years 2015 and 2016.

The move will save the city over $1 million dollars per year.

Councilman David Sosar inquired as to whether this would result in an increased financial burden to the city in upcoming years, to which Williamson replied, “I really don’t think so.”

Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/50460903/Hazleton-moves-to-save-money-on-fire-police-pensions

Hazleton Looks At Tax Increase To Pay For Added Police

Downtown Hazleton, PA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HAZLETON, PA — City Council unanimously approved a referendum on Monday night that would ask city voters if they would support an increased police presence on city streets at a cost of a 1-mill tax increase for property owners.

A mill is $1 dollar in tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. For example, a 1-mill increase on a property valued at $100,000 would mean a $100 tax increase for the property owner.

Council member Jean Mope said although she fully supported the hiring of additional police officers, she believed officials should investigate funding sources beyond taxpayers’ pockets.

Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/50375881/Hazleton-looks-at-tax-increase-to-pay-for-added-police

Hazleton Passes Budget With A Cut In Property Tax

Downtown Hazleton, PA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HAZLETON, PA — Not only did a council majority avoid layoffs and deferred paydays for city workers Thursday night, the majority also amended Mayor Joe Yannuzzi’s proposed budget to include a property tax decrease.

Yannuzzi had said he would have to lay off City Hall employees and have police, firefighters and road crews work without pay if council didn’t adopt a stormwater maintenance fee because he already included it as revenue in the 2014 budget. And he needed a balanced budget in order to secure a tax anticipation note — a bank loan to tide the city over until tax revenues start to come in the spring. The loan also would cover salary expenses through the end of 2013.

At a meeting filled with outbursts, shouting matches and arguments among council members, council voted 3-2 to adopt the maintenance fee on a sliding scale that depends on the size of a property owner’s lot and other factors. The owner of an average size lot will have to pay a $25 fee in 2014.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/local-news/1035150/Hazleton-passes-budget-with-a-cut-in-property-tax

Hazleton City Shutdown Looms Over Deficit

Downtown Hazleton, PA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HAZLETON, PA — About 50 of the city’s 110 employees might be furloughed as early as Monday and the city is in danger of defaulting on its bills because of a $500,000 budget deficit.

At a press conference Monday, Mayor Joe Yannuzzi unveiled the latest in a string of the city’s financial woes that started last year when it had to raise the real estate tax by 45 percent. As it stands, non-essential employees — primarily office personnel and some public works employees — will not show up for work Monday and City Hall will be closed.

Firefighters and police will work regular shifts and road crews will still plow snow from the streets, Yannuzzi said.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/local-news/1010850/Hazleton-city-shutdown-looms-over-deficit

Hazleton ‘Tweaks’ Noise Ordinance

With Hazleton police responding to at least three noise-related calls per shift, Chief Frank DeAndrea said he welcomes council’s efforts to assist his department in stamping out disturbances that create “a huge quality of life concern” for the community.

An updated noise ordinance city council ratified earlier this week will give the police department a means to deal with problems that accompany noise-related issues that stem from a changing society, DeAndrea said.

Council approved final readings of an updated noise ordinance that was written by Councilman Kevin Schadder.  The eight-page law establishes fines of between $100 and $1,000 for people who are found guilty before a district justice of violating any one of a number of noise- or sound-violations that range from barking dogs and “unnecessary horn blowing” to loud music and construction equipment.

“Sometimes it seems like things need to be tweaked as society changes to be better able to enforce what maybe five years ago wasn’t an issue,” DeAndrea said.  “If the changes, or tweaks, in this ordinance give the police department a little bit different angle to approach noise with, I’m all for it.”

Read more:  http://standardspeaker.com/news/hazleton-tweaks-noise-ordinance-1.1480168