2009 News

December 16, 2009

Four-Year String of Zero-Tax-Increases is First in a Quarter Century

With nearly all of its seats filled, the Bucks County Conference and Visitors Bureau’s (BCCVB) Bensalem meeting room will go down in county annals as the place the commissioners passed a no-property-tax-increase budget for the fourth straight year. County Commissioners, Chairman Charles H. Martin and Jim Cawley, both voted for the zero-tax-increase budget. Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia voted against the budget. The only adjustment before it became final was a $150,000 allocation from the county’s general fund to the Bucks County Free Library System, which fell victim to state funding cuts. Acting Chief Operating Officer and Finance & Administration Director Brian Hessenthaler says it has been at least 25 years since residents have enjoyed four consecutive years without a tax increase in the county. A link to the 2010 final budget can be found on the county’s official Web site, www.BucksCounty.org.

Chairman Martin opened the meeting by calling on BCCVB’s Vice President, Bill Haas, to welcome the assemblage. Following the recent closure of Washington Crossing State Park by the commonwealth, Haas announced a fundraiser set for Saturday evening by Friends of Washington Crossing State Park, and mentioned the CVB has contracted with the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission to ensure the traditional Christmas-Day crossing by George Washington and his troops will continue. Also welcoming the crowd was Bensalem Mayor Joe DiGirolamo, for whom the meeting room is named.

Commissioner Marseglia read the single proclamation of the meeting, recognizing the Tree of Hope as the County of Bucks’ official symbol of support for recovery from the ravages of addiction.

The Board of Commissioners passed resolutions for 14 departments during their final 2009 meeting, including seven contracts with attending physicians for Neshaminy Manor Nursing Home, and authorizing an annual expenditure with Independence Blue Cross for employee health insurance. Commissioner Martin abstained from item 8e, a contract with the Midway Corp. for construction of an ADA ramp at Chickenfoot Park in Middletown.

Commissioner Martin called upon Rich Harvey, who heads the county’s highly successful Agricultural Preservation Program, to present details of the county’s 135th preserved farm. The 21-acre tract brings the tally to 11,507 total acres. Harvey cited the property as being located between three other nearby farms, and the 15th farm preserved in Springfield Township.

At the beginning of his bi-weekly update, acting Chief Operating Officer and Finance & Administration Director Brian Hessenthaler turned the floor over to Health Department Director Dr. David Damsker for an update on additional H1N1 clinics held this month. Damsker, whose update was met with applause, noted that in the last week, nearly 20,000 doses at three clinics were administered to anyone in the CDC’s priority groups, bringing the total number of Bucks Countians immunized to 60,000.  Damkser also alluded to an 85 percent drop in the number of cases since the season’s peak, and pointed out that virtually no seasonal flu is currently circulating.

Hessenthaler complimented county leadership on what he has described as the most difficult budget in recent memory, and singled out Deputy Finance Director Dave Boscola who he said stepped up and rose to the challenge this year. During his report, Hessenthaler invited county children to the courthouse’s traditional holiday gathering, slated for Thursday, December 24 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Acting Chief Clerk Lynn Bush further added that a study has been completed by the Delaware River Basin Commission on the severe flooding suffered by the county’s 17 riverside municipalities along the Delaware. Bush plans on sharing the findings with members of the task force formed by commissioners to address the shared issue.

Among other updates offered by the commissioners, Commissioner Marseglia announced she and her colleagues would be sending a letter to foster care agencies encouraging efforts to recruit foster families within Bucks County. Commissioner Martin alluded to the new Project Blue Light wreath that now adorns the courthouse in remembrance of law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty as well as the unveiling of artwork gifted to the people of Bucks County by its 21st Century Alliance partners in the Republic of Korea this week. Finally, Commissioner Cawley notified his fellow commissioners that they should all be receiving the anticipated report of the county’s multi-faceted Economic Development Advisory Board (EDAB) before year’s end.

Commissioners and staff will return to the courthouse for the bi-weekly meetings for the remainder of the winter. The next meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, January 6, 2010.  For a full audio account of the meeting and a copy of the business agenda, please visit www.BucksCounty.org.

The BCCVB venue also provided the perfect setting for the announcement of $187,500 of tourism grants as part of the fall 2009 award cycle. Those awards are administered through the county Conference and Visitors Bureau. Organizations receiving funding include:

Bucks County B&B Association $15,000 New Hope Celebrates $2,500 Bucks County Wine Trail $20,000 Johnsville Centrifuge Museum $2,500 Historical Morrisville Society $5,000 Heritage Conservancy $3,000 Pearl S. Buck House $10,000 Quakertown Alive! $2,000 Bucks County Covered Bridges $7,500 Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve $12,500 Historical Society of Bensalem $2,500 Bucks County Historical $20,000 James Michener Art Museum $25,000 Delaware Valley Philharmonic $5,000 River Road Business Alliance $20,000 Historical Fallsington $3,000 King Library Restoration $3,000 Craven Hall Historical Society $1,500 Churchville Nature Center $7,500 Landmark Towns $10,000 Bucks County Wine Trail/ New Hope Chamber of Commerce (Wine Fair) $10,000