PHILLIPSBUG — Phillipsburg Council held a special meeting Aug. 1 to give final approval to placing a 3-mill operating levy on the ballot. This special meeting was necessary to get the paperwork to the Montgomery County Board of Elections by mid-August so the issue can be on the November ballot.
The board of elections had already approved the notification that the village wanted to put a levy on the ballot, and now the village had to approve the resolution itself.
In previous meetings, Mayor Shawna Newsom had explained that the village needed the levy to provide a cushion. While current revenue will meet current expenses, she said, the village would be unable to meet any emergency such as a natural disaster. And being unable to meet these expenses would require the village to disband its government and be run by the county.
“We need a cushion,” she has explained.
Levies are based on the taxable assessment for property, which is 35 percent of the property’s appraised value for sale. A 3-mill levy is three tenths of a percent and thus would cost a homeowner $105 per year for every $100,000 of appraised value.
There was a slight hitch as Fiscal Officer Shelley Phillips began to call the roll for a vote before the motion had been seconded.
“We’ve got to play the game right,” Council Member Chris Steiner teased her.
The vote for final approval was four to one. Hope Hoard opposed it, and Heather Craft was unable to attend the meeting.
The only other action council took was to approve Interim Fire Chief Chris Rowher’s request to fill four vacancies on the department. Six members had resigned in the past month, and Rowher posted ads on Facebook.
“In about three hours I had eight people reach out, and I have four applications,” he said.
He took time to praise other members of the department who, he said, “had stepped up to fill out the shifts.”
Several have worked in various fire departments in Montgomery County. All four applicants are qualified in Advanced Life Support, and three are dual certified in firefighting and EMS. The fourth is certified as a paramedic but let his fire certification lapse.
“Our call volume is primarily on the EMS side,” he said, “so it will still be a huge asset to the department to have him.”
The four are John Reid, Sherri Widener, Jason Petitto, and Matthew Bucher.
The hiring was approved unanimously, with Council Member Chris Steiner saying simply, “We need them.”
The next regular council meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 20, in the village hall at 10868 Brookville Phillipsburg Rd.
