Oakland’s Police force had had a pay raise of 50 cents last year, but none for the four years previous. Oakland’s Finest were more than deserving of a pay raise, especially as they put their lives on the line with every minute on duty, so argued Oakland Mayor Ron Beavan. He furthered his position that a police pay raise was in order if only so the borough might keep pay somewhat competitive with that of neighboring municipalities--and to maintain the high quality of the borough’s current force. So it was that Mayor Beavan’s robust case in support of a police pay raise eventually carried the day at council’s December 10 monthly meeting.

Borough Councilmen, led by President Brian Rhone, came to agree with Mayor Beavan and voted a 75 cent/hour pay raise for Police Chief, Bob Sweet, and also for his cadre of three patrolmen. The 75-cent raise will bring Chief Sweet’s pay to $14.25/hour, and patrolmen’s to $12.75/hour. With each officer typically working very limited hours per week, and with the exclusion of fringe and health benefits, Oakland Boro’s pay package is still by no means overly generous. The borough continues to run a tight fiscal ship. Council continued its longstanding austerity policy, with no pay for councilmen and mayor; Secretary/Treasurer Flo Brush and Code Enforcement Officer Shane Lewis have had no pay raise for multiple years.

The police pay raise came within the context of passage of the borough’s 2016 budget. Budget passage was unanimous, with Councilmen Brian Rhone, Jack Agler, Gary Boughton, and Doug Arthur all voting in the affirmative. Councilmen Eric Page, Nelson Towner, and Dave Trevarthan were not in attendance.

In tandem with a flat-funded 2016 budget came passage of the borough’s 2016 Tax Ordinance. That ordinance maintained the borough’s three revenue producers--real estate tax, occupational tax, and per capita tax--at exactly the same level as 2015. No tax increase; no reduction.

Circling back to the police pay increase, because there are no tax increases and revenues are expected to be flat, the modest up-tick in wages is expected to be made up from minor transfers from another account, from savings, and/or through collection of taxes currently being evaded by borough residents. Councilman Arthur noted that many long-time Oakland residents faithfully pay their occupational taxes, but reforms or improvements could conceivably bring in increased revenue from those who are not pulling their weight in paying their occupational taxes.

While the borough was focused on fiscal matters, it approved two other motions relating to the 2016 budget. Council voted to retain Joe Collura at an annual cost of $1,250 for auditing services. And Solicitor Myron DeWitt’s offer to continue legal services at a cost of $140 per hour was also unanimously accepted by council.

The Mayor’s Report included the borough’s Police Report for the month of November. There were a total of 11 response events, seven traffic stops and one each of the following: criminal mischief, noise complaint, theft, and welfare check. Following the police report, Mayor Beavan introduced a candidate for hire to the borough’s police force, Marcus Duarte. Mr. Duarte, a native of Media, Pennsylvania, and current resident of Binghamton, outlined his credentials and gave an enthusiastic and personable presentation as to his motivation for duty in law enforcement. Council briefly queried him and then voted to hire him for full duty commencing as soon as all required clearances and examination are satisfactorily completed and on file. Welcome to Oakland PD Mr. Duarte!

Also on the agenda for action was the borough’s Pet Ordinance. The proposed ordinance is not yet sufficiently fine-tuned for approval by council. President Rhone stated that he was continuing to study the ordinance to make sure all the “i’s” were dotted and the “t’s” crossed before the final product was brought up for passage. Councilmen discussed a number of barking-dog problems in the borough, and commiserated that the problems had not abated. The devil is in the details as far as defining a barking-dog nuisance, insofar as defensible and enforceable language is necessary to hold the owner legally accountable in court. Owners leaving their dogs unattended during extended absences (typically for work) seem to be the main culprits responsible for the borough’s barking-dog nuisances.

There were no Codes or Parks Reports for this meeting. “No news is good news,” noted Councilman Boughton. And with the absence of Councilman Page, there was also no Building Report, although Secretary Brush reported that the Building Committee had met recently and had provided her with a copy of their latest draft drawings of how the new borough building might be laid out. Secretary Brush passed out copies of the drawings to Council and Mayor for review at their leisure.

Finally, Council agreed that Monday, January 4, 2016 is the date for borough council’s Reorganization Meeting. Time and place for the meeting are details still to be worked out, but will be advertised well in advance of the meeting. Council further agreed that their January regular monthly meeting will immediately follow the Reorganization Meeting.

Oakland’s December meeting opened at 7:12 p.m. and closed at 8:23 p.m. So ended Oakland’s final meeting of 2015. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

It wasn’t clear how Chris Lewis took the chair at the head of the table at the start of the reorganization meeting of the Blue Ridge School Board on December 7.  Shane Rumage had been vice president until he resigned in November; Mr. Rumage’s seat on the board was promptly filled by Jessica Wright (over the objection of Mr. Lewis, as it happens), but a new vice president was not elected at that time.  Nevertheless, Mr. Lewis remained at the head of the table throughout the proceedings and became the Board’s new president.

When nominations came open for the new board president, new board member Edward Arnold immediately nominated Mr. Lewis, and Mr. Fred Lewis immediately seconded.  (Mr. Arnold took the seat of Laurie Brown-Bonner for Region 2B; Ms. Brown-Bonner, former board president, attended the meeting.) The vote wasn’t unanimous, but it was enough to place Mr. Chris Lewis in the chair for 2016.

Harold Empett accepted nomination and election as vice president.  But he then had to resign his position as board treasurer in favor of Christina Cosmello.

In a brief statement Mr. Lewis said that he wanted to build better relationships with the staff, and come to an agreement on a new contact as soon as possible.

The only other business transacted the meeting was to accept a list of meeting dates for the next year, beginning on January 11, 2016.  All meetings begin at 7:00pm in the cafeteria in the Elementary School.

The minutes were approved, the bills were paid, letters read, and motions made. But with all said and done, good tidings of great joy were announced by Starrucca resident Peter Frank. During the Public Participation section at the close of Starrucca Boro’s December 7 meeting, Mr. Frank stood and proclaimed, “On Saturday, December 19th, at 10 o’clock, across from the two churches what I would call a Community Christmas Tree is going to be set up, and anybody who would like to watch, to help, to donate is more than welcome. . . It’s a community thing. . . Churches are involved; they got me involved. Anybody is welcome.”

Present for Starrucca Borough’s year-end meeting were President Jack Downton, Council members Robert Weldy, Louis Gurske, Barbara Glover, Art Kopp, and Jason Heeman, along with Mayor Mary Ann DeBalko and Secretary/Treasurer Patti Smith. Councilman Paul Everett was absent.

Per their standard practice, borough council bifurcated their monthly meeting with a lengthy Executive Session from 7:25 to 8:13 p.m. During that time, audience and press evacuated the meeting room (kitchen) to the unheated gymnasium, to heated private vehicles, or to open skies under the stars. Meanwhile, inside, council discussed a plethora of legal issues, some likely stretching back to nearly a decade ago.

Upon return to regular order President Downton ticked off a list of the legal matters confronting the borough and where each matter stood. Additionally, Council voted its approval to turn a number of matters over to the borough’s Solicitor (Waldron) for investigation. Those matters included possible Ethics issues dating from as far back as 2006, along with borough filings in the county Prothonotary’s Office from 2009-2010.

In New Business, council unanimously approved the borough’s budget for 2016. The borough’s 2016 budget projects total revenues of $58,488, and expenses of $57,294. To understand the budget, taxpayers should grasp that it is composed of two major parts, Liquid Fuels monies and General Fund monies. The state provides $20,532 in liquid fuels monies, and borough council has allocated those funds to accomplish three functions: street lighting ($1,223), snow maintenance ($9,000), and road & bridge maintenance ($10,309).

When the focus shifts to the General Fund budget, Council foresees revenues of $37,656 and expenses of $36,462. The chief revenue sources are real estate taxes (current) projected at $27,000, and real estate taxes (delinquent) projected at $4,000. Current and delinquent real estate tax collections are expected to make up 85% of the borough’s revenue for the General Fund.

Expense priorities for the borough in 2016 are chiefly Buck Road Loan payment ($8,905), Legal-Solicitor ($5,500), Insurance ($5,000), and Secretary/Treasurer Salary ($4,200). Those four line items combined consume nearly 65% of the borough’s budget.

One minor matter that came up for discussion, in a most accidental way, was pay for borough council members and mayor. In round-about fashion it was agreed that all council members were entitled to the $10 per monthly meeting, regardless of attendance record for those meetings. Councilmen Art Kopp and Robert Weldy both declared that they declined any and all payment whenever such year-end payment is due. The other council members and mayor agreed that they would accept remuneration when payment came due. Councilman Paul Everett was not present, as previously noted.

Council’s Reorganization Meeting was approved for 7 p.m. on January 4, 2016. The borough’s regular monthly meeting will proceed immediately thereafter.

Susquehanna Depot Borough Council deliberated, discussed, and wrapped up 2015 business during 59 minutes of public meeting on Wednesday, December 9. Within the 7-8 o’clock hour Council approved 13 of 14 motions unanimously, although the 13th motion was tabled until the consequences of its adoption could be fully understood. More on the ill-fated 13th motion later.

Presiding over the borough’s year-end meeting was President Joe Varsik, with Council members Sue Crawford, John Hendrickson, Barbara Larsen, Roy Williams, and Debbie Zayas in attendance. Also present were Mayor Nancy Hurley and Secretary/Treasurer Margaret Biegert; Councilwoman Kaylin Lindquist was absent.

Among the major measures approved were passage of Tax Ordinance #470, which established the borough’s 2016 tax millage at 24.2 mills, unchanged from 2015. That left the borough’s 2016 budget virtually flat-funded, balancing revenues and expenses at $422,645.

Other budgetary motions approved by the borough included (1) changing the opening deposit of the Police Pension Unfunded liabilities account to $57,000, and (2) approving the 2016 Capital Reserve Savings Budget. Additionally approved by Council, at the urging of DPW employee Kevin McKee, was a motion to approve expenditure of $585 for undercoating the borough’s new DPW truck.

Other motions Council approved pertained to changes to the Employee Handbook, and to Resolution 120915 (to adopt NEIC Fee Schedule for 2016). The Employee Handbook changes included these provisions: personal time off for part-time borough employees is calculated once per calendar year for the hours worked for the previous 12 months multiplied by a pre-determined factor; no vacation time can be carried forward; unused time off has no cash value.

The NEIC Fee Schedule adoption is, at least in part, a reaction to the current combined 62 code violations/citations currently outstanding in the borough. Citations are cases which have risen to a level of seriousness that requires adjudication before Magisterial District Judge Jodi Cordner. The newly adopted fee schedule increases fines for code violations and brings the borough’s fee schedule into standardization with other municipalities.

Mayor Hurley presented the Police Report for the month of November. It showed a total of 54 event responses, of which 29 were motor vehicle related and 22 of the 29 logged as traffic stops. Of the remaining non-vehicular incidents, the major classifications included: disorderly conduct (1), domestic dispute (5), fraud (1), harassment (4), noise complaint (1), theft (3), and welfare check (1). Mayor Hurley added that there had been recent incidences of homeless persons observed in the borough. The public, she advised, should report homeless persons to the police--not so as they would be prosecuted--but to ensure that the homeless would be provided with the help that they so desperately need. Police, she assured, will respond and transport homeless persons to shelter.

Emergency Management Coordinator John Hendrickson focused on two concerns in his monthly report. The first: although winter weather has been mild thus far, motorists should remain vigilant concerning morning fog and black ice, and motorists should take care to maintain their vehicles to handle winter’s treacherous road conditions. His second advisory focused on the recent terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California. Concealed carry license numbers are up in Susquehanna County; those arming themselves should obtain appropriate training, and members of the public should maintain a high level of situational awareness, with readiness to report suspicious activities whenever and wherever observed.

In old business Riverfront Park was discussed. The Parks Committee will meet with DEP representatives at the Borough Building at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, December 15. The meeting’s purpose is to plan for future action (since the State, without a budget, has no releasable funding). It was noted that the borough will eventually have to submit a conceptual drawing (at a cost of $2,000) as part of the grant application process. The eventual outcome envisioned is a park residents can enjoy--one cleared of hazardous substance contamination.

Finally, the ill-fated 13th motion was to be for advertisement of Ordinance #471, Elimination of the Ward System, for adoption at the January 13, 2016 meeting. While the ward system will ultimately be eliminated in Susquehanna Depot, a number of details are still fuzzy. Several questions remain to be answered. Where will the unitary polling place be located, St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church or the municipal building? Who makes that determination? How will the membership of the local election board be determined, since the borough currently has two election boards, but is consolidating to one? The County Board of Election will have to provide guidance to borough officials-- to alleviate resident concerns--before even the advertising process can move forward. This is the one piece of year-end business the borough will have to tie up next year.

Before shifting to Executive Session (to discuss a personnel issue) at 7:59 p.m. Council unanimously agreed to schedule and to advertise the 2016 Organizational Meeting for Monday, January 4 at 6 p.m. The meeting is open to the public, and those wishing to attend should note the earlier hour for this event.

Miscellaneous Investigation: On 10/06/15 Silver Lake Township Police were dispatched for a report of someone trespassing on private property on Patton Road. Upon arrival by police, it was discovered that no trespass had taken place. Chief Timothy Burgh was the responding officer.   

911 Hang-up: On 10/08/15 and on 10/09/15 Silver Lake Township Police were dispatched for a 911 hang-up call on Church Road. Upon arrival by police it was discovered that there was a problem with the phone line. Chief Timothy Burgh was the responding officer.  

Suspicious Vehicle: On 10/14/15 Silver Lake Township Police while out on patrol observed a vehicle with an expired registration. A traffic stop was initiated for multiple vehicle infractions. The driver was cited and the vehicle was towed from the scene to the owner’s residence. Chief Timothy Burgh was the responding officer. This case is still active.

Erratic Driver/ Traffic Stop: On 10/16/15 Silver Lake Township Police while out on patrol on State Route 167 observed an erratic driver. The driver was travelling South on 167 near Longford Lake going at speeds above 70 mph. A pedestrian had just been observed riding his bike on the roadway in the same direction that the erratic driver was travelling. Montrose Police were given a description of the vehicle and the driver and asked to assist in getting the vehicle stopped. Chief Dale Smith after observing the vehicle still speeding was able to initiate the traffic stop. Silver Lake Police were called to the scene and the driver of the vehicle admitted to driving at a high rate of speed and was cited by Silver Lake Police. Chief Timothy Burgh and was the responding officer. This case is still active.

Theft/Motor Vehicle: On 10/19/15 Silver Lake Township Police responded to a report of a stolen vehicle on Lyons Road that had occurred 2 days prior. Upon arrival of police the reported stolen vehicle was sitting in the owner’s driveway. The owner of the vehicle was contacted about the vehicle and reporting it stolen. This case is still active. Chief Timothy Burgh was the responding officer.

Disabled Vehicle: On 10/19/15 Silver Lake Township Police while on patrol were flagged down by a disabled motorist. The motorist stated that their brake line had just broken on their vehicle and they had no way of getting home. The motorist was given a courtesy transport to Montrose where he had help waiting for him. Chief Timothy Burgh was the transporting officer.

Silver Lake Township Police responded with The Silver Lake Fire Company or Silver Lake Ambulance a couple of times during the month of October.

Any information or questions for Silver Lake Township Police please call 570-278-6818 and leave a message or email us at silverlaketwppd@epix.net, all information will be held strictly confidential. You can look at the Silver Lake Township Website at www.silverlaketwp.org, to see all Silver Lake Townships' news, profiles, and resources, including the police reports. For all emergencies calls or if you need an immediate police response, dial 911.

BENCH WARRANTS

The Susquehanna County DOMESTIC RELATIONS Section has outstanding BENCH WARRANT’S for the following individuals as of  8:30A.M. December 11, 2015: Jack Akers, Duane M. Aldrich, Todd A. Andrews, Asa M. Atherholt IV, Tonya S. Birchard, Edwin Blaisure, Adam Bohn, Allan A. Bucksbee, Michael J. Burger, Tina M. Clark, James Donahue III, David J. Fischer, Jeffrey J. Gamble, Morgan A. Garcia, Angelica Groover, Jonathan L. Hollister, Timothy M. Holmes, Kristen N. Kelly, Todd J. Layton, Charlie J. Legere, Lawrence M. McGuire, Timothy Murray, Rebecca A. Reardon, Desiree L. Shifler, Jason L. Shores, Christopher Snyder, Marcus E. Spickerman, James E. Turcotte, Brandi R. Wayman, Pati Welch, Matthew C. Whitney, Roger D. Williams, Please contact the Domestic Relations Section at 570-278-4600 ext. 4050 with any information on the location of these individuals. 

The Susquehanna County Commissioners wish to announce the Courthouse will be closed on Thursday and Friday, December 24 and 25, 2015 in observance of the Christmas Holiday. All court related offices will be available.

In a story about the dedication of the new Worship Center at Jackson Baptist Church, appearing in this paper’s December 2, 2015 edition, it was reported that Pastor Gary Haskell was a graduate of Baptist Bible College in Clark’s Summit. This is incorrect.

Pastor Haskell was kind enough to forgive our error and provide expanded  clarification.  Pastor Haskell is, in fact, a graduate of Baptist Bible College East in Milton, Mass. The name of the college has since changed, being renamed Boston Baptist College.

In addition, Pastor Jack Hackworth, on-hand as guest speaker for Jackson Baptist Church’s worship center dedication, is currently pastor of Cook Road Baptist Church in Mansfield, Ohio. Pastor Haskell recounts that Pastor Hackworth was one of his professors in Bible College, while simultaneously pastoring at Granite State Baptist Church in Salem, NH. Pastor Hackworth would travel to the Boston area one day per week to teach classes at the college. It was the instructional blessing of an experienced pastor currently in the ministry that was so foundational and formative to young Pastor Haskell’s spiritual growth.

Pastor Haskell’s dear friend, Frank Leporacci, Jr., also on hand (with his wife, Lori) for dedication of the JBC Worship Center,  is originally from North Scituate, RI, and a member of Grace Bible Church in Cranston, Rhode Island. Pastor Haskell and Mr. Leporacci have been close friends since 1981.