First Posted: 1/5/2015
AVOCA — Borough council held its annual reorganization meeting on Jan. 5 at the borough building.
Council President Joseph Satkowski Sr. and Vice President John Boone vacated their seats for a brief moment before being voted back into their respective roles.
Council also approved other notable borough positions, including Atty. Charles D. McCormick remaining as borough solicitor, Keith Patterson as street commissioner, Gerald R. Dommermuth as borough worker, Jennifer Davitt as treasurer, Kelly O’Brien as secretary, Stephen Yokimishyn as payroll clerk, Sandra Loftus as office help, Theresa Wrubel as refuse fee collector, David Homeschek as chief of police, Jerome Kudajeski as sergeant of police, Jeff Pisanchyn as Avoca Building/UCC Inspector, Jim McMahon as director of emergency management and council member Gary Halagarda as deputy director of emergency management.
The following ordinances and resolutions were approved during the reorganization portion of the meeting:
• Dates and times of future council meetings to continue to be held the third Thursday of every month at the borough building on 52 Main St., with the work session beginning at 6:30 p.m. and the monthly meeting immediatelyfollowing.
• Fixing the tax rate at 2.3 mills for the 2015 year. A mill is $1 on every $1,000 of assessed values.
• Re-enacting the wage tax that borough citizens pay at the same rate of 1 percent, half of which goes to the school district with the other half going to the borough for the 2015 year.
• Fixing a rate of 1 percent for the transfer of title of real estate in which anybody who purchases or sells a house in the borough pays the 1 percent of the title that is transferred.
• Re-enacting the Local Service Tax, or LST, at $52 for the 2015 year.
• Imposing an annual amusement tax of $75 on each coin-operated amusement device within the borough throughout 2015.
• Authorizing the elimination of member/employee contributions to the Police Pension Plan Fund for the 2015 year.
• Authorizing the issuance of a Tax Anticipation Note, which is issued by the municipality to finance current operations before tax revenues are received, for 2015 at the amount of $40,000 with an interest rate of 1.75 percent.
At the conclusion of the reorganization meeting, the council then held its regular monthly meeting and approved the re-hiring of 23 part-time police officers for the month of January at a rate of $11.75 an hour with the exception of one officer to be paid at a rate of $10.50 per hour.
The final motion approved passed was the pickup of Christmas trees on Monday, Jan. 26. Residents should have trees on curbs beginning the night before.
