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

2021 Audit Discrepancies, Human Relations Commission, Yet Another Lower Dolington Rd Trail Promise, N Sycamore St Grant, Pedestrian Safety, 2023 Budget Discussion, More…

This is my personal summary of the November 22, 2022, meeting of Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete nor an official summary.

Access the 2022 BOS Chronicle for a more detailed summary of this meeting plus an updated BOS voting record (UNOFFICIAL) for 2022.

Agenda Items

• 2021 Audit Presentation - Discrepancies Found
• Reports of Committees, Boards and Commissions
  • Planning Commission Update: Joint Comprehensive Plan
  • Mack's Report: Human Relations Commission vs K-12 Education Discrimination
• Engineer's Report
  • November 4, 2022, Engineer’s Report
  • Update: N. Sycamore Street Keystone Grant
  • Next Steps: Pedestrian Crosswalk Improvements at Newtown Walk
  • Lower Dolington Road Trail – Yet Another Promise!
• Old Business
  • 2023 Budget Discussion: Funds for NFA Retention and Recruitment
• Official Video

Newtown Township provides substantial financial support to the Association. Newtown Township levies, collects and remits a portion of .875 mills of real estate taxes to the Association. During the year ended December 31, 2021 , Newtown Township remitted real estate taxes of $160,000 to the Association. Because of the significance of the Association's financial relationship with Newtown Township, the Association is considered to be a component unit of Newtown Township for Newtown Township's financial reporting purposes. Other primary sources of revenue and support are donations from the general public and investment income.

Download the report...

Several Newtown Township residents met with Supervisor John Mack via Zoom on Monday October 18, 2021, to discuss the Manager’s Recommended Budget and Toll Bros recommended settlement agreement. This meeting took place just prior to the Budget Presentation before the Board of Supervisors.

Some highlights of the Meet Mack Monday meeting include:

• Status of SAFER grant, which would allow the township to hire five (5) additional full time firefighters at a cost of $1.8 million dollars to pay the cost of the firefighters for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024.

• Police Hiring and New Police Vehicles: The Police Chief wants to purchase three police patrol vehicles in 2021 and hire one additional full-time officer.

• eConsult Study: Does the Manager’s proposed 2022 budget follow the recommendation of the October 2020 e Consult study?

• Increase Tax for Fire Protection Fund: Also discussed at this Meet Mack Monday was the $300,000 to be added to the Fire Protection Fund and given to the Newtown Fire Association (NFA) to help provide coverage on weekends. That money will come from the proposed 1.5 mill tax increase.

See more details and listen to the discussion…

The picture continues to be bleak when it comes to attracting and retaining volunteer firefighters, Yardley-Makefield Fire Company Deputy Chief Tim Chamberlain told the Lower Makefield Township supervisors at their Sept. 14 meeting.

Chamberlain said the number of active volunteer firefighters at YMFC – meaning those who respond to at least 25 percent of calls – has fallen from 34 to 31 in the last year. The average age of those active volunteers continues to trend upward as family and work obligations and other issues are holding down the number of younger volunteers, he added.

The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t helped either. Chamberlain said four firefighters stopped responding to calls after March of 2020 because they feared contracting the virus on a call and bringing it home.

Of the 18 new volunteers accepted into membership since January of 2017, eight have already resigned because of lack of time or changes in their personal lives, the deputy chief noted.

“The fire service is suffering, just like businesses who cannot find help,” Chamberlain said. “I wouldn’t want it to get to a point where a fire truck can’t get out to an emergency.”

Problems at Yardley-Makefield reflect a trend in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and the United States, officials at the meeting said.

“We need to start talking about what we can do to address these shortfalls,” township Manager Kurt Ferguson said. “There’s no one, single answer.”

Supervisor John Lewis suggested that perhaps the township could help the fire company develop a comprehensive marketing plan to attract more members.

Newtown Fire Association member and local businessman Andy Rich talks about the celebrated Newtown Beerfest, which will take place on September 18, 2021, at the Stocking Works, 301 S State St, Newtown, PA.

Andy emphasizes the major role that the beerfest has played in raising funds for the new $800,000 fire engine. All made possible by contributions from local businesses and residents!

Even so, Andy says more is needed to build up the understaffed volunteer and paid fire departments in Newtown.

[Chart: EMS=Rescue and Emergency Medical Service; Good Intent Call=Someone thought there was a fire or emergency but it turned out otherwise (e.g., smelled smoke, but no fire or cause found).]

Of the 111 calls/incidents in June, 2021, 90 (81%) were in Newtown Township and 12 (11%) were in Newtown Borough. The rest were in Northampton Twp (5), Middletown Twp (3), and Lower Makefield (1).

See the map for the locations of these calls…

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.

BOS Work Session via Zoom

August 17, 2020, 11 AM

Expected agenda items:

• The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors engaged Econsult Solutions, Inc. (ESI) to develop a comprehensive multi-year financial management plan, will include recommendations to improve operational efficiency and promote fiscal stability in Newtown Township.  The consultants will present a summary of the results of these surveys and give the supervisors a progress report on the multi-year financial plan.
• The Newtown Fire Association (NFA) will present details about a new fire engine the NFA plans to purchase in 2021 and how they will finance this purchase.

More...

BOS Regular Session (LIVE)

100 Municipal Drive, Newtown

Wednesday, August 26, 2020, 7 PM

SEATING IS LIMITED TO 20 PEOPLE (3 of which will be Toll Bros. representatives) – get there early if you want a seat!

Expected agenda item:

• Toll Bros. Twining Bridge Road Development Decision: The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors completed hearings on a conditional use application (“Application”) submitted by Toll PA XVIII, LP involving the development of land located along Route 413 (Durham Road) & Twining Bridge Road proposing the construction of 45 new single-family homes on approximately 150 acres. 

More...