This is my narrated version of the Powerpoint presentation I made at the 21 October 2024 Meet Mack Monday Zoom meeting.

Topics include:

• 2025 Budget - Some Questions
• Sewage Treatment Plant & Rate Increase Survey
• Crosswalk & Sidewalk Improvements Update
• Pedestrian Safety – Residents’ Comments
• Increased Fire & EMS Tax Millage Survey
• 2025 Road Repair Plan

To meet the increasing financial needs of fire and ambulance services, on July 11th, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed Regular Session 2023-2024 House Bill 2310, which authorized increased millage rates for annual taxes levied by Townships of the Second Class for Fire Protection and Emergency Services from 3 mills to 10 mills.

For the average Newtown Township homeowner, a 1 mill yearly real estate tax amounts to about $44.00.

Although this allows for a substantial tax increase, it is still up to the Board of Supervisors to approve any tax increase.

Read the details here...

From Evan N. Resnikoff, M.S. NRP, Chief of Operations, Newtown Emergency Medical Services, President, Bucks County EMS Chiefs' Association:

"I am proud to note that at both the Newtown and Upper Makefield Stations we achieved an average response time of less than 1.5 minutes in May, and we arrived on location in less than 6 minutes. This is significant in that during a moderately busy month they were able to achieve a better than national average for response times. Locally, the Bucks County average response time for Advanced Life Support is 12 minutes."

Due to system problems in the aftermath of the January cybersecurity incident at the County, mutual aid statistics for Newtown Ambulance services (NAS) that responded in to the Township is not yet available.

This month‘s report has been generated based on NAS's internal systems and a dispatch report provided by the County EHS Office..

TOTAL RUNS: 211

Note that we count every vehicle response as an individual run. The County on|y counts number of incidents, not number of responses. Total run numbers are based on the total number of reports in the NAS internal system.

This is my personal summary of the February 28, 2024, meeting of the #NewtownPA Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete nor an official summary.

Agenda Items, Discussions, Decisions, and More

• Reports of Committees, Boards and Commissions
  • Planning Commission: Wireless Amendment to JMZO
  • John Mack: Bucks NAACP Race & Policing in Bucks County Briefing, Human Relations Commission Meeting, and 26 February 2024 Meet Mack Monday Zoom Meeting
• Engineer’s Report
  • Crumbling Section of Lower Dolington Road
• Manager’s Report
  • ESD Report
• Other Items of Interest
  • My Detailed Notes
  • Official Video
  • Video Transcript

More...

At the November 22, 2022, Newtown Board of Supervisors meeting, Fire Chief Glenn Forsythe answered questions by supervisor John Mack regarding Newtown Fire Association's (NFA's) plans for member retention & recruitment in 2023.

There was some concern about the 2022 budget numbers and the relatively low amount budgeted for recruitment given the fact that the township will be donating $330,000 to the NFA General Fund in 2023.

Mr. Forsythe emphasized that it costs a lot of money to run a fire department.

View the video: https://youtu.be/zkET2JEs3_Q

UPDATE (November 8, 2022): “Voters Support Additional Needed Funding for the #NewtownPA Ambulance Squad”; https://sco.lt/5uUlXM 

[Image: Members of the Newtown Ambulance Squad are thankful for community support.]

Leaders of the Newtown Township Ambulance Squad say they need more public funding to be able to continue answering life-saving emergency calls.

The ambulance squad that serves Newtown Borough and Newtown Township in Bucks County — a community of about 22,000 residents — is facing the same financial issues as other emergency medical services across the Philadelphia suburbs and the commonwealth. The cost of medical equipment has increased, staff are leaving for better-paying jobs, and the squad has a funding model that relies mostly on insurance collections and patient co-pays, rather than local taxes.

“I’ve been in emergency medical services for 27 years and never in a million years did I think that we would be in the staffing and funding crisis that we’re in now,” said Evan Resnikoff, chief of operations for Newtown Ambulance and president of the Bucks County EMS Chiefs’ Association.

Resnikoff is hoping some more dedicated funding from the township will help. And at his request, Newtown Township is asking voters if they want to approve a roughly 6% tax increase to help fund the ambulance squad.

Newtown Township residents currently pay 8.49 mills in property taxes, which equates to a tax bill of $370.16 for the owner of a home assessed at $43,600. Newtown Ambulance Squad already gets 0.5 mills of that tax rate.

The proposed increase of 0.5 mills would cost the owner of a home assessed at the township average an extra $21.80 per year.

Read more…

It’s been a long hot summer and much has happened while we were on vacation. The Newtown Board of Supervisors (BOS) has received many comments from residents this summer regarding several issues – especially pedestrian safety, Lower Dolington Road trail delays, and women’s reproductive rights (i.e., abortion). Residents joined me via Zoom to discuss these and other issues at the September 12, 2022, Meet Mack Monday meeting.

Some residents were concerned about the Women's Reproductive Rights Resolution. What does this resolution say? Whose opinion does it represent?

Find out by reading the summary here...

[Image: "Sorry! I can't show you the actual draft budget," said John Mack. The public won't be able to see the budget until AFTER the election in the second week of November or later.]

On October 18, 2021, Newtown Township Manager, Micah Lewis, presented his DRAFT 2022 budget to the Board of Supervisors (BOS). This was a public in-person meeting attended by all the department heads, Fire Chief, and Police Chief.

Mr. Lewis's presentation summarized the major budget items. The unedited presentation is embedded at the end of this post. You can download the PDF version here. View the 1.5 hour video archive of the meeting.

The Supervisors were able to ask questions as well as the public although there were only a handful of residents in attendance. 

Some 2022 Budget Highlights

• Total revenues: $13,193,088 (vs $12,722,257 in the 2021 budget; there is an estimated fund balance forward amount of $2,995,785, for a projected total of $16,188,873 available in 2022); Total expenditures: $14,554,818 (vs $13,811,834 in the 2021 budget); Net fund balance: $1,634,055 (11% of expenditures vs 20% projected for 2021)
• Addition of one full time Police Officer; Addition of one full time Deputy Fire Chief (see "A Growing Township Staff").
• Purchase of a new Fire Chief’s Vehicle and three police patrol vehicles. Financed purchase of two public works utility vehicles, and one Parks and Recreation pickup truck. 
• Police Department Facilities Study to assess current and future building needs (see "Police Department Facilities Study"). 
• 3.11 miles of road work expected, not including additional alternates (see "Road Repairs").
• Tax increase of 1.5 mills proposed in the Fire Protection Fund.

More, including videos of township officials answering my questions....

This is my personal summary of the August 25, 2021, meeting of Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). Some of the issues that were discussed and/or voted on include:

• Final Arcadia Land Development Decision
• Public Comment: Single-Use Plastics & Climate Change
• Public Comments: Hybrid Meetings
• Fire Services Fee Schedule Amendment Resolution
• ESD Report
• My Detailed Notes
• Video of Meeting

More...

The Newtown Fire and Emergency Services has announced the arrival of its new Enforcer Rescue Pumper.

For the next several weeks, the new truck will be housed at Station 55 in the township where additional equipment is being installed, Fire Company President Warren Dallas told the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors on July 14.

“Firefighters will be training on the new truck for the next month,” said Dallas. “And we expect to put the truck in service sometime in August.”

The Supervisors gave the Fire Association the okay last fall to proceed with the purchase of the new rescue pumper at no cost to the township*. [See “Insights” below.]

The new pumper will serve Newtown for easily the next 10 to 20 years, said Dallas, noting that the 2001 truck has been responding to calls in Newtown for the past 19 years.

The volunteer Newtown Fire Association [NFA] purchased the $716,000 Pierce truck with $500,000 in cash and by taking out a 15 year loan for $200,000.

Planning for the new truck began two years ago with the formation of a truck committee. Since then, the firefighters have conducted an extensive review of truck options, looked at 15 to 20 trucks and drove a bunch of them “all to try and get a sense of what is the right answer is for Newtown,” said Dallas.

Dallas noted that the committee included Newtown Township Emergency Services [NESD] career personnel. “We thank them for all the support they provided and all the details they helped us piece together,” he said.

Chop’t restaurant in Newtown Shopping Center, potholes fixed, park restrooms to be re-opened, Emergency Services Department April 2021 Report, More...

The following are my personal notes from this meeting of Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). Some of the issues that were discussed and/or voted on include:

• Chop’t, 2910 South Eagle Road
• Public Works Report
• ESD Report for April 2021
• Service of restrooms in the Township parks
• Approval of payment of bills totaling $154,882.12

Access the complete notes...

Falls' newest police chief isn't waiting long to take initiative with the department.

Chief Nelson Whitney, a 33-year member of the department, said he has several plans for it following his appointment to the role this month.

This month, the "acting," was dropped from Whitney's title. Now officially in the role, Whitney is looking for ways to improve the 53-member department.

Whitney … said he is training officers on crowd control, emergency vehicle usage and even training some officers to be emergency medical technicians.

Officers who are EMTs are not common to many departments, according to Whitney, who is also trained as an EMT. Currently eight officers in the department received EMT training.

With that training, officers can provide advanced medical care before hospitalization at scenes of various incidents, including overdoses or crash calls.

“The two things that kill people in Falls Township on a regular basis are drug overdoses and car crashes,” Whitney said.

In addition to [EMT training], a certified recovery specialist will be joining EMT officers during patrols starting next month, according to the chief. The specialist will be able to get those suffering from substance abuse the necessary steps for help, Whitney said.

It is funded by the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission.

It's not just for people experiencing overdoses, but for those charged with offenses such as theft, or victims of domestic or social problems, according to the chief.

“I just love being in a position where my skillset and my decision making can make a difference for somebody," he said.

The following is a brief summary of the February 26, 2020, Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting based upon the official minutes of that meeting.

Community

Love is Love Day Resolution: Mr. Mack explained the Love is Love Resolution which Senator Santarsiero brought to the floor of the Senate to recognize February 15 as Love is Love day for LGBTQ youth. The motion failed 3-2 with Messrs. Calabro, Davis and Oxley voting nay. View the video to hear comments from several residents who spoke in favor of the resolution. [UPDATE: A revised version was passed at the March 11, 2020, meeting.]

More…

Development

Supervisors approved Bomba the conditional use application of Tacos and Rum, an approximate 3,990 square foot tenant space at 2930 S. Eagle Road in the Village of Newtown Shopping Center.

Supervisors failed to vote on a Toll Bros conditional use application to a 45-house development in the Conservation District located at 435 Durham and 107 Twining Bridge Roads.

Reports of Committees, Boards and Commissions

Planning Commission: JMZO Amendment – Mary Stover from CKS engineering attended the meeting to provide updates and answer questions. She reported Wrightstown and Upper Makefield received the ordinance however they have not officially reviewed it.

More…

Public Safety

Mr. Lewis stated the SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) Grant was coming up and both he and Chief Forsyth recommend the Township move forward and apply for the grant which will provide the Township with additional funds for hiring more staff. He said the Township is looking to expand the department to 7 days/12 hours this grant would greatly help that effort.

More…

Recently, there have been several emergency or near emergency situations in Newtown Township. On March 7, 2018, during a snow emergency power failure, the Township Building was open as a “warming center,” but before any township residents were made aware of this, power was restored; on October 5, 2018, the Bucks County Community College was locked down due to a supposed terrorist threat, but residents did not get immediate alerts sent to their cell phones; on October 24, 2018, Swamp Road and Route 413 experienced significant traffic delays due to an accident, but many residents were unaware of the problem.

The list goes on. And although the Newtown Police Department and/or the Township Manager were able to post information about some of these events on Twitter and Facebook or via email homeowner association management companies, these notices reached a limited number of residents, reached them too late, or never reached them at all.

Would you opt-in to receive Emergency Alerts, Advisories (less urgent need-to-know information), Community Information (day-to-day neighborhood to community-level information), Traffic (very localized traffic information), etc., via mobile phone, email or hard line phone?

TAKE THIS SHORT SURVEY!

The Bucks County Commissioners and the Bucks County Emergency Communications Department have partnered with Smart911 to begin a new program that will allow for quicker assistance when a 9-1-1 call is placed. Individuals can now sign up for free online and give pertinent information on themselves and their family which will allow 9-1-1 operators to dispatch law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services quicker and with more relevant data.

Residents can now create an account at https://www.smart911.com/smart911/ref/login.action?pa=buckscounty with basic contact information. Once the account has been activated, the profile can be customized and residents can share as little or as much as they would like emergency response to have in the event of emergency. The information is only viewable by dispatchers and other emergency personnel when a 9-1-1 call is placed, otherwise it remains safe and secure in the safety profile.

“If your elderly father with Alzheimer’s and a history of wandering lives with you, adding his photo to Smart911 allows dispatchers to distribute that photo to emergency personnel as soon as you call 9-1-1,” said Audrey Kenny, Director of Bucks County Emergency Communications. “If your daughter has a severe peanut allergy, adding that medical information to Smart911 could give precious moments to the Emergency Medical personnel who won’t have to ask as many questions before beginning treatment.”

Another major benefit to Smart911 is their partnership with RapidSOS. Each year, roughly 180 million mobile calls are placed to 9-1-1, and over 10,000 lives are lost when those mobile customers cannot be located, according to the FCC. Adding a home address, work address, possibly a church or community center where free time is spent, allows the caller to simply use their cell phone to say “I am home” or even “I am three blocks from work coming from home” and the dispatcher who has the address information can relay it to emergency personnel. RapidSOS takes it one step further. This new system works with the Emergency Communications software to further narrow down the caller’s location on a mobile phone. RapidSOS uses a nationwide Location Information Server (LIS) to deliver more precise coordinates and faster service. In some situations, RapidSOS can get emergency personnel to callers up to five minutes faster, which could dramatically alter the outcomes of crises.