I missed the West Marlborough Township supervisors' meeting on Sept. 29 but got a full account from somebody who did attend (thank you to my source!). The board discussed the results of a road survey that McCormick Taylor Inc. conducted to help the township decide whether to "take back" several state roads, such as Routes 841, 842, 82, and 926 and Springdell Road. By doing so the township would have control over the roads in return for a flat fee from PennDOT -- but would lose the annual snow removal funding from the state and would have to foot the bill for maintenance, snowplowing and policing. The board talked about the pros and cons of taking back the roads and how it could fund the increased maintenance expenses, possibly by enacting an earned income tax. Most people who work outside of the township already pay this tax to the municipality where they work; if West Marlborough enacted such a tax, workers' taxes would not go up, but rather a portion would be forwarded to the township.
With U.S. Census data showing 398 households in West Marlborough and a mean household income of $137,172 (assumed to be half earned and half unearned), an earned income tax of 0.25% would bring in $68,243 and one of 0.50% would bring in $126,486.
The supervisors haven't made any decisions on the issue yet.
Speaking for myself, I'm still a little stunned by that mean household income figure.
No comments:
Post a Comment