September 11 – The Chambersburg Borough Council will meet tonight at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at 100 South Second Street.
Budget time is approaching.
Allen Coffman, borough council president, said, “Tonight it’ll be almost entirely talking about budget items for 2024. This is the first of our September meetings and if I’m not mistaken, I think we have three meetings a month from now until November to get through all the departments so it’ll be a busy night tonight.”
Last week the Pennsylvania Municipal Electric Association held its annual meeting.
Coffman said, “My main question to (the borough manager) was, who was the lowest electric provider for the state of Pennsylvania? The lowest was again Chambersburg, PA. That didn’t totally surprise me and obviously that’ll be a topic of discussion from the first departmental presentation which will be the electric department tonight. (Electric costs) will go up, but it will still be lower than anybody else around here. Without a doubt.”
A probationary firefighter will be appointed tonight for the Chambersburg Fire Department.
Coffman said, “We were down in person and he will be appointed and sworn in by the mayor this evening. I’m not sure when school starts. But this gets him sworn in as a member of the department in time to send him off to school Harrisburg.”
A public hearing will be held tonight to authorize a resolution approving the application for a submission to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for a Home Investment Partnership Program grant.
Coffman said, “It totals roughly $1.5 million and also is going to have a housing operating grant totaling $347,792 for another project that they’re doing on South Main Street. So that hearing will be held tonight. The borough’s part in it is the pass through for the finance part. We’ve done that before and there’s nothing really that unusual about what we’re doing. It’s one of the things that has to be done to make it happen.”
The borough will receive a percentage of the grant for administrative costs – about $90,000.
Pat Ryan of NewsTalk 103.7FM pointed out, “This is a good grant. They’re going to bring some buildings that aren’t going to be demolished. They’re going to be brought back to life here. But I mean $90,000 is a lot of money to be a pass through for a grant here. I’m certain there’s a good use for it, but it gave me a little bit of a little bit of a twinge there. I’m certain it’s standard operating procedure and there’s nothing I can do about it. But I can only imagine that maybe half of that would be better suited to the people that they’re trying to help in that.”
Coffman said, “I agree and from what I remember, the amount that that’s been, it’s been a percentage, it’s not changed. That doesn’t vary with whatever the project is. It’s been established and it’s set and it’s what we’ve used for some years.”
The department reports tonight will include the electric department, the water and sewer department and the gas department and the stores and warehouse department.
For tonight’s agenda, click here: http://www.borough.chambersburg.pa.us/pdf/Public%20Edition%2009112023%20agenda.pdf
