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Delaware County, PA | May 15, 2007 Election |
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Reduction of Property TaxesBy James P. "Jim" BurrowsCandidate for Council Member; Borough of Lansdowne; Republican Party |
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Our 19% Borough Tax Increase is Summary Enough!Lansdowne residents face tough times ahead if our Borough Council and School Board do not make serious changes to the patterns of the last five years. Ask our residents and you will hear complaints largely about two things, the schools and taxes. Two years ago, when I ran for Borough Auditor, our party warned our fellow neighbors that they would see a huge increase in borough taxes if we were not elected. Although the Democrats largely dismissed our calls as "politics," the truth was revealed shortly after the elections when the Democrats raised property taxes 14% in 2006. This huge increase was still not enough to cover their spending programs and they raised them another 5% last year. In 1 1/2 years we have seen a 19% increase to our Borough tax bill. In addition to the abhorrent increases, further insult was delivered when our school district announced plans to launch an income tax under Act 1. Act 1 demands that any tax increase go to referendum, but the District is working to get the current tax increase without this requirement. Let's be clear, Act 1's referendum requirement for increases beyond a state defined maximum is specifically designed to prevent exactly what the school district is doing. Yet our Borough Council, who found time to pass a resolution asking the only republican on the school board, John McKelligot, to resign, has remained silent over this circumvention of Act 1. Mr. McKelligot, it should be noted at the time, was dead set against the School Board's plans to raise our taxes. The people of Lansdowne need someone that represents and protects their most important asset, our homes. We should demand that our council defend our rights and our homes. When they fail to do this, then the people should, and will, remove them from office and elect another group that will. I offer an alternative to the current tax and spend policies. |
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