The Sanatoga Post

SANATOGA PA – Natural disasters hit Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township pretty hard during 2011. Heavy rains turned Sanatoga Creek, Sprogel’s Run, and the Schuylkill River into raging torrents. Much of what was in the water’s path was flooded and damaged. Properties here weren’t the only ones hit, of course: hurricanes soaked other parts of the Atlantic coast, tornadoes wreaked havoc in Southern and Midwestern states, and wildfires hit Texas

Traffic cones warn drivers away from flooded North Sanatoga Road last September

If you were affected by a natural disaster last year, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants thinks you should be aware of Internal Revenue Service rules on casualty losses, as well as other financial considerations.

What Qualifies for a Deduction?

Under IRS rules, you are allowed to deduct a casualty loss that is the result of a disaster, but related rules serve to significantly whittle down the amount you can deduct.

First, consider what is eligible for the deduction. A casualty loss is the damage, destruction, or loss of property resulting from an identifiable event that is unexpected, sudden, or unusual. Damages from natural disasters – hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and earthquakes, for examples – are casualty losses. Damage to your home or other property caused by something that is not unexpected, sudden, or unusual, such as accidental breakage of items under normal conditions, progressive deterioration occurring naturally over time or due to the failure to maintain the property, does not qualify as a casualty loss.

If you suffered a casualty loss to your home, household goods, or vehicle due to a disaster, you should be eligible to deduct the amount of that loss on your tax return, less required adjustments. (The same is true if you suffer a loss due to a theft.)

How Does the Deduction Work?

According to the IRS, “If your property is personal-use property, or is not completely destroyed, the amount of your casualty or theft loss is the lesser of: The adjusted basis of your property, or the decrease in the fair market value (FMV) as a result of the casualty or theft.”

To determine your adjusted basis, start with the basis of the property. Your basis in the property is usually how much it cost you. Increase or decrease the property’s basis to reflect any improvements made to the property or depreciation deductions you have taken for the property.

The decrease in the FMV used to determine the casualty loss is the difference between the FMV of the property immediately before the casualty and the FMV of the property immediately after the casualty. The FMV immediately after the casualty frequently is the salvage value of the property. From the lesser of the adjusted basis of the property or the difference in its FMV, subtract any insurance payment or other reimbursement (such as compensation for the loss from a government or employer relief program). This is your casualty loss.

For example, say flooding heavily damaged a finished basement during a recent hurricane. Several items were destroyed by water damage—a washer and dryer, hot water heater, furnace, some furnishing, the basement walls. The basis in these items—what originally was spent on them—amounts to $10,000. The fair market value of these items was $9,500 before the disaster and $500 after, making the decrease in the FMV $9,000. Because the decrease in the FMV of the items is less than the adjusted basis in them, you must use the decrease in the FMV in your loss calculation. Your insurance covers you for a maximum of $5,000 in damages, leaving you with a $4,000 casualty loss.

Final Steps in the Calculation of the Deduction

Before deducting personal property casualty loss on your tax return, there are some last steps you must take. First, you must subtract $100 from every casualty or theft loss you report each year. That lowers the example amount to $3,900.

More significant, you must subtract 10 percent of your adjusted gross income from the loss amount to arrive at your final deduction. If your adjusted gross income was, $30,000 last year, you would subtract $3,000—10 percent—from your loss amount to arrive at $900 as your allowable deduction. If your adjusted gross income in the example was $39,000 or higher, that 10 percent would wipe out your allowable deduction altogether.

Other Sources of Help

For those seeking additional relief, it’s important to be aware that organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) often provide funds and services to those affected by disaster. The agency’s guide, “Help After a Disaster,” offers an overview of what’s available. In addition, “Disaster Recovery: A Guide to Financial Issues” – a joint project of the American Institute of CPAs, the American Red Cross, and the National Endowment for Financial Education – answers questions on how to minimize the consequences in the first days, weeks and months after a disaster.

Contact A Certified Public Accountant

If you have experienced casualty losses due to a disaster, or if you have questions on preparing for or dealing with any financial issue, consult a local CPA. He or she can provide advice to help address a range of financial concerns.

POTTSTOWN PA – Pennsylvania’s teen driver law, which in part requires all occupants age 18 or younger of any vehicle to wear a seat belt, took effect late last December (2011). Now Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Police want to ensure it takes hold in the minds of teens themselves.

18 or younger? Buckle up, or face the music

Traffic Safety Ofc. Robert Diesinger and School Resource Ofc. Wil James got to work Tuesday (Feb. 14, 2012) at Pottsgrove High School on Kauffman Road to introduce the law and its ramifications to students there. They’re scheduled to conduct several seminars on the subject, reaching every grade level, through March 4.

The police department will make sure the consequences of non-compliance are felt, too.

In a little less than two weeks – beginning Feb. 28 and continuing through March 2 – department patrols will concentrate on enforcing the law along Kauffman Road, Buchert Road, North Charlotte Street, and other roadways within the townships. Violators should be prepared to be stopped, questioned, reminded of the law, and possibly be issued warnings or citations.

“This new law is a primary violation, and subjects can be stopped solely for not wearing a seat belt,” Diesinger said.

Parents and other adult drivers should pay attention, too. They are responsible for the safety of those in their vehicles, and can be cited if passengers who by law must wear seat belts are found without them.

The intent, of course, is to raise awareness of the law now on the books. Lower Pottsgrove’s effort is being funded by a $1,000 “teen-driver safety enforcement mobilization” grant, and the township was chosen as a recipient specifically because of its educational outreach, Diesinger noted.

Parents and teens who have questions about the law, or the department program, can call Diesinger for more information at 610-326-1508.

Be safe and smart, Lower Pottsgrove Police request. Make sure your car doors are locked.

SANATOGA PA – An investigation is continuing by Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Police into alleged thefts of materials from unlocked vehicles in the area of Pebble Beach Lane, Pinehurst Drive, Country Drive and Sunnyside Avenue, according to police Sgt. Timothy Walters.

Early last week (Feb. 6, 2012; Monday), Walters stopped four Pottstown residents – an adult male and three juveniles ranging in age from 16 to 18 – after he found them “acting suspiciously” near the intersection of Country and Sunnyside. Walters subsequently discovered “various items of property” that police said they believe were abandoned by the suspects when they saw Walters’ patrol car approach.

Charges against the subjects are pending further investigation, Walters reported. To that end, the Lower Pottsgrove department is asking for public help. Anyone with information regarding the alleged thefts, or anyone who may have determined items in their cars were recently missing, are being asked to call police at 610-326-1508. Missing property may include cameras, cell phones, loose change, and other items, Walters said.

Police also hope to locate owners of the property already recovered.

Acting Police Chief Michael Foltz and Ofc. Scott Weidenhammer met during January with a group of Pebble Beach Lane residents to discuss their concerns regarding the perception of rising crime in the area. Increased street lighting, the potential placement of certain fences, and the creation of a volunteer Neighborhood Watch group for the area are among possible solutions still being discussed, Foltz told the Board of Commissioners during their meeting last Monday.

Foltz also issued a list of what he called “immediate measures” that would help deter he threat of thefts in all areas of the township:

• Keep all vehicles and homes locked at all times;
• Do not leave valuables inside cars where potential thieves can see them;
• Record serial numbers along with the make and model of all valuables;
• Place identifying marks – but not Social Security numbers – on all valuables. The police department has an engraving tool it can loan for such purposes, Foltz said;
• Photograph all valuables, particularly jewelry, coins and precious metals;
• Keep receipts for all valuables to provide proof of ownership to insurers;
• Install outdoor porch, post, and flood lights on timers or motion sensors to light the areas around a home;
• When leaving home, ell neighbors of your plans, and have them keep watch there;
• Immediately report any suspicious activity to police; and
• Consider investing in security or surveillance systems for a home, and identify their use with signage.

LIMERICK PA – Exelon Nuclear, which is credited for its financial support of Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township’s summer concert series, on Tuesday (Feb. 7, 2012) delivered a $150,000 donation to its host municipality, neighboring Limerick Township, to pay for programs and facilities of the Limerick and Linfield Fire companies, its police department, and local parks and recreation.

The check, presented to the Board of Supervisors by Limerick Generating Station (LGS) Site Vice President Bill Maguire, represented the fourth installment of a $600,000 Exelon contribution to the township during the past four years.

“Our goal at (LGS) is to be both a leader in our community and in the nuclear industry,” Maguire said. “Exelon employees have been, and will continue to be, deeply involved in the community, and this contribution demonstrates our ongoing commitment to Limerick … and the region.”

Municipal officials welcomed Exelon’s gift. LGS, supervisors’ chairman Kara Shuler said, “is a valuable member of our community and we look forward to having them here for many years.”

Exelon is currently in the process of renewing its nuclear Units 1 and 2 operating licenses for another 20 years. The station is located at 3146 Sanatoga Rd. in Limerick, just east of the Lower Pottsgrove-Limerick townships’ line.

Exelon spokeswoman Dana Melia noted the company also contributes more than $400,000 each year to regional charities and community organizations.

Photo by Sean Bonner via YFrog

Buckle up. It keeps you safe, and also keeps your out of legal trouble

SANATOGA PA – Teenage drivers and vehicle passengers at Pottsgrove High School who fail to buckle up and wear seat belts are going to get a good talking to – and later may even be ticketed – by officers of the Lower Pottsgrove Police Department, Acting Chief Michael Foltz told the township Board of Commissioners.

The department has won a $1,000 grant from the “Buckle-Up PA” program of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Foltz said Monday (Feb. 6, 2012), and it intends to put that money to use beginning Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. That’s when School Resource Officer Wil James, and Traffic Safety Officer Robert Diesinger will make a “teen seat belt mobilization” presentation at the high school. A second show will follow on March 4.

PennDOT has placed increasing importance on seat belt awareness and enforcement within the teen population, Foltz explained, in part because teens tend to pay less attention to the safety benefits of being belted in. They pay a high price for that inattention, too, in injuries and fatalities. Alerting them to the dangers, and the remedy, is the program’s first task.

It’s not the only one though.

Lower Pottsgrove expects to throw enforcement muscle behind its cautionary words. The program’s “second wave will be an enforcement detail,” Foltz told board members. Warnings, tickets, fines, and maybe worst, notifying parents, are among the tools the department might use to force teen drivers and riders that the law requires their safety and compliance.

PennDOT’s funds will cover the cost of the materials for the presentations, and any overtime incurred by officers involved in meeting the program’s goals, Foltz noted.

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Feb. 6 meeting):

• Buckle Up, Teens, Or Face Lower Pottsgrove’s Police
• Speed Limit, Stop Signs Topics Of Park Road Hearings
• Talk About Really Dirty Crime: Township Trash Thefts
• Settlement May Be Near In Rupert Road Bridge Lawsuit

SANATOGA PA – Traffic may move more slowly along South Park Road in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township, following two public hearings the Board of Commissioners has scheduled for Feb. 23 (2012; Thursday) at the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Sanatoga PA.

The board plans a hearing at which it will consider setting a 30-mph speed limit on South Park Road, which runs from East High Street directly into the upper (southeast) portion of Sanatoga Park. The park, already busy with joggers, children on playground equipment, and intense soccer games, is likely to get even busier this summer with baseball games, board members learned from Assistant Manager Alyson Elliott.

During the second hearing, commissioners will consider installing dual stop signs at the intersection of South Park and Eastern Street, as well as at the entrance and exit driveway for the park.

The hearings were authorized during the board’s Feb. 6 meeting, and were advertised Wednesday (Feb. 8; here and here) in The (Pottstown PA) Mercury newspaper, the township’s publication of record for legal notices. All the traffic-related measures are intended to increase safety of movement in and out of the park, as well as for residents whose homes line the road, Manager Rodney Hawthorne said.

The park’s soccer field, at its south end, has already seen significant use, Elliott told board members. Its baseball stadium, which in years past has been described as an underused asset, will host several games this year, she added.

Local baseball organizations have indicated they would be willing to help with the field’s maintenance and upkeep, too. The township is currently writing agreements to formalize those arrangements, Elliot said.

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Feb. 6 meeting):

• Speed Limit, Stop Signs Topics Of Park Road Hearings
• Talk About Really Dirty Crime: Township Trash Thefts
• Settlement May Be Near In Rupert Road Bridge Lawsuit

This split image from Google Maps shows the Rupert Road bridge from a driver's perspective, above, and its mapped location below

SANATOGA PA – Attorneys working on behalf of Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township said Monday (Feb. 6, 2012) they’re hopeful good things may soon happen in finding cash to fix the crumbling Rupert Road bridge on the municipality’s east side. As evidence of their confidence, the Board of Commissioners was asked to consider scheduling a special meeting on the topic next week.

Commissioners unanimously agreed. A date has yet to be set, pending Manager Rodney Hawthorne’s check of other calendar items. The Post will report the meeting date when it is announced.

The bridge carries Rupert Road across Hartenstine Creek, and is deemed to be one of six structurally deficient bridges in Lower Pottsgrove. During weekdays it bears a heavy load of traffic moving mornings from the township’s northwest end to the Sanatoga interchange of U.S. Route 422, and back in evening hours.

It’s been on the township’s to-fix list for years, with $375,000 or more for the job intended to have come from developers responsible for building the housing community surrounding Raven’s Claw Golf Club on the road’s east side. The money, according to Solicitor R. Kurtz Holloway, sits earmarked for the purpose but untapped in a Wilmington DE bank.

Commissioners last April (2011) directed Holloway and their special counsel, the Furey & Baldassari P.C. law firm in Audubon, to file a lawsuit in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas against developer DHLP LLC. It bought the community from an earlier developer, and consequently assumed liability to pay for the bridge’s repair or replacement, Holloway said.

The township and DHLP had been negotiating over the total sum involved for some time. Those talks broke off earlier last year, and then resumed when the lawsuit was ordered. Now, Holloway explained, they seem to be headed toward a conclusion. “There’s movement,” the solicitor cautiously announced Monday, “and it’s my recommendation we try not to lose it if we can.”

Because the board won’t meet again until Feb. 23, Holloway advocated the special meeting. It will be open to the public, but likely will be preceded by a closed-door executive session during which commissioners would learn the details of any agreement and be able to ask questions regarding it. Such private talks regarding litigation are allowed by state law.

Related:

• Settlement May Be Near In Rupert Road Bridge Lawsuit
• Rupert Road Bridge Repair Funds ‘Wait’ In DE Bank
• Township Plans $375,000+ Suit To Fix Rupert Bridge
• Report: Six Bridges In Township ‘Structurally Deficient’

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Feb. 6 meeting):

• Settlement May Be Near In Rupert Road Bridge Lawsuit

Images from Google Maps

SANATOGA PA – Thar’s gold in them thar black plastic bags. And refuse cans. And recycling bins too. In Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township, some folks’ trash truly is becoming what others treasure.

Someone, so far unidentified, seems to be stealing garbage from the curbs of local homes, Acting Police Chief Michael Foltz acknowledged Monday (Feb. 6, 2012). No, it’s not a big problem, Foltz said, at least not yet. But it is bothersome enough that police patrols assigned to night shift duty are being asked to stay alert and try to, um, bag the perpetrators.

Recyclers are paying higher prices to buy scrap metal, Foltz told the township Board of Commissioners, and that drives these nuisance thefts. Bandits apparently swipe the bags, sift through the rubbish for anything salvageable or usable (think identity theft, too), then toss the remains in any nearby dumpster.

Which is how former commissioner and East High Street resident Tom Troutman learned he had been a victim.

A dumpster owner who pays private contractors to haul his garbage away found Troutman’s name on magazines within his trash, and called him to demand an explanation. Troutman was at first embarrassed, then angered, and then humored, he told commissioners. “It sounds silly, and it’s almost laughable,” Troutman conceded, “but it’s also frustrating.”

The problem is worse, Commissioner Stephen Klotz noted, when bad guys go mining through bins containing materials to be recycled. They’re taking money out of the recycler’s pockets, Klotz said, “and besides that the neighborhood ends up looking like the trash men were there at midnight.”

And there, Foltz drew a legal distinction: trash at the curb is discarded and therefore might be considered publicly available, he said; recyclables are not. Even so, if the trash thieves are caught there are offenses aplenty with which they can be charged and, like a wad of used chewing gum, police probably can make them stick.

Foltz’s bigger worry, he said, is the potential for identity theft. It happens to millions of Americans each year, and can result in severe financial distress and months of angst as victims try to sort out how and where someone else fraudulently used their identity information.

The solution to that problem is simple, Foltz added: shred all documents containing personally valuable information before disposing of them. Then there’s one less thing for trash thieves to profit from, he said.

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Feb. 6 meeting):

• Talk About Really Dirty Crime: Township Trash Thefts
• Settlement May Be Near In Rupert Road Bridge Lawsuit

Photo from Google Images

POTTSTOWN PA – A knowledgeable team of would-be attorneys fielded by Pottsgrove High School won both of its opening contests Tuesday (Jan. 31, 2012) during the district-level first installment of the 2012 High School Mock Trials Competition sponsored by The Montgomery Bar Association Young Lawyers Section, the Bar website reported.

The Falcons’ legal squad scored 99.40 against one of two teams from LaSalle College High School (its score was 96.00) in Tuesday’s first round at 3:30 p.m. in the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown PA; and then fared even better, 101.00, against a Souderton High School team (93.60) in the 5:15 p.m. second round.

Pottsgrove’s is one of 32 teams from Montgomery County high schools vying for the district crown in Pennsylvania’s mock trial program. Now in its 28th year, Pennsylvania’s statewide Mock Trial Competition includes more than 280 high schools from across the Commonwealth, making it one of the largest programs of its kind in the nation.

During the competition, each eight-member student team has the opportunity to argue both sides of a previously provided case in an actual courtroom before an actual sitting judge from Montgomery County’s Court of Common Pleas.  The students, who play the roles of lawyers, witnesses, plaintiffs and defendants, prepare with the help of teacher-coaches and lawyer advisers.

This year’s case is a civil action in which the plaintiff seeks an injunction to prevent the owner of a pharmaceutical plant from expanding its operations. The plaintiff argues that an endangered species is alleged to have been found on the land where the expansion is to occur.

Future mock trials in the competitive series are scheduled for Feb. 13 (Monday) and Feb. 15 (Wednesday). District semi-finals are scheduled for Feb. 21 (Tuesday), and the district finals for March 13 (Tuesday).

Lawyers, law office staff and community leaders serve as jurors for the mock trials. The juries determine the winners in each trial based on the teams’ abilities to prepare their cases, present arguments and follow court rules. Young Lawyers’ Section Chairman Seth Wilson said that more than 100 county judges, teachers and lawyers are volunteering time to the mock trials this year.

Once the local contests conclude – and Pottsgrove has done well in them during past years – the winning finalist team will join 11 other high school mock trial teams from across Pennsylvania in advancing to the Pennsylvania Bar Association Statewide Mock Trial Championships, March 30 and 31, in Harrisburg.  The winning team of the state championship will represent Pennsylvania in the national mock trial finals to be held during late spring in New Mexico.