Taxes, growth and crime

What does this article mean?

Initially, on the surface, there is some good news here as it looks like the local property tax rate will remain the same. Here is our concern with this though.

This particular tax is the lowest tax that we pay. The township is able to hold the line due to all the development occurring within our humble community. What happens when we run out of space to be developed and there is no developer fees being collected? Well, we all know the answer to that one. Consider this in the meantime, the township is already up to its eyeballs in debt!

There were two other very interesting items in this Morning Call piece.

1. "The police plan also said township growth has directly affected call volume, sending it from 3,428 in 1999 to 7,012 last year." This should be of great concern to everyone, especially "Security (formerly Soccer) Moms". Our once humble town is becoming a city. While police calls are rising, we need not look further away than places like Allentown and Easton to see what is coming our way.

2. "Forks, according to census figures released in July, was the second-fastest growing municipality in the state since 2000, trailing only Lower Macungie Township. Forks now has more than 13,000 residents." Despite our rapid growth we still garner very little media coverage, why is that? Most especially troubling is why the Express-Times (E-T) seems to be devoting very little ink to us and what they do write appears to just scratch the surface. Additionally, they never seem to have anything negative to say about our Board of Supervisors or challenges them in any way. Hmm, one wonders why. Imagine if the E-T gave us just 10% of the in-depth coverage that they are devoting to the Easton-Phillipsburg H.S. Thanksgiving Day football game. Wow, would that be something!

Please don't forget that our challenge to zoning ordinance #298 continues on Monday, November 20, 2006, 7:30pm at the Municipal Building.