Done the figuring; cut the checks.

SANATOGA PA – Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township contributions to the Visiting Nurse Association of Pottstown and Vicinity, the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society, and the Pottstown Area Seniors Center all have now been restored to previous levels, about six months after the budget controversy in which they were initially halved.

Members of the township Board of Commissioners unanimously agreed last month (June 18, 2009) to pay out a remaining $3,000 in charitable donations to the three agencies, in recognition of services they offer to Lower Pottsgrove residents. For the record, each group during 2009 will have received $2,000 from the beneficence of township taxpayers, board minutes state.

Restoring the money has been on commissioners’ minds since May, when President Bruce Foltz announced he’d like to revisit the subject. It had been delayed since then due to personnel absences and the time needed to ensure money was available.

When commissioners introduced their tentative 2009 budget last fall, they cut township contributions to all three agencies and the Pottstown Public Library by about 50 percent from 2008 levels. Public outcry over the cuts caused the board to promptly reinstate the library to full funding of $60,000, which required it to dip into Lower Pottsgrove’s savings, known as its fund balance.

Reinstating money for the remaining groups, however, was purposely deferred by the board until it could be assured that township expenses hadn’t otherwise run amok. Commissioner Jonathan Spadt earlier last month acknowledged finances “are actually in pretty good shape. We’re on or below budget.”

Commissioners’ minutes of the June 18 meeting note that township disbursements like those to the agencies usually are made in September. The board decided not to wait that long, and checks were mailed shortly thereafter, township Manager Rodney Hawthorne said.

Photo by Clipart.com

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Township 2009 budget):

• Township Reconsiders Charitable Donations
• Ca-ching! Goes Lower Pottsgrove
• Library’s Funding On Its Way
• Township Budget Passed, Library Funding’s Back
• Budget Resolutions In The Spotlight
• Township Expects Givers’ Pinch
• Keep Library Funding, School Board Asks
• Trump Card In The Budget Discussion
• Commissioners: Damned If They Did, And …
• Township Budget Summary Online
• First Glance At Lower Pottsgrove’s Budget
• Make No Mistake, It’s Not Final
• A Difference In Openness
• Tax Rates On Township Agenda
• Board Proclaims No Tax Increase Intent
• 2009 Budget On Board’s Agenda

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