Newtown News of Interest
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Scooped by johnmacknewtown
onto Newtown News of Interest
November 12, 10:11 AM
Scoop.it!

Taxes are UP 30% New Road Paving Miles are DOWN 25%!

Taxes are UP 30% New Road Paving Miles are DOWN 25%! | Newtown News of Interest | Scoop.it

The 2026 Budget spending focuses on hiring unneeded additional Newtown Twp staff, purchasing multiple police cars, a dump truck, and other things... but NOT on roadwork! Taxes are up 30% while new road paving miles are down 25%!

 

This isn't just a one-year shortfall; it points to a structural problem. When a town consistently paves fewer miles than required for basic upkeep, it creates a long-term infrastructure deficit. Roads will likely degrade faster than they can be repaired, leading to more significant and costly problems down the line.

 

MY PROPOSAL

PennDOT District 6 (Bucks County): averages $350K–$600K per lane mile for resurfacing under state contracts. To get to 3.5 miles of paved roads, an additional 1.6 miles of road need to be paved requiring about $760K more funding would be needed (using an average of $475K per mile base on PennDOT numbers). For a more realistic goal, I proposed finding additional fund to pave a total of 2.5 miles of roads (same as in 2025).

 

If ONLY 2 new police cars were approved, $170K would be available for road repair. Add to that a savings of $205K by removing a new dump truck from the budget, you would have $375 available – enough to add nearly 0.8 miles to the total. That would then be enough to pave 2.6 miles of road!

 

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Newtown News of Interest
These Scoops are excerpts from articles published in local newspapers and other sources that may be of interest to Newtown area residents. Please click on the "From" link to access the full original article. Any opinions and "insights" appended to these article summaries are solely those of John Mack and do not represent the opinions of any other person or entity.
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