Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Baldwin must start a large water basin project soon with or without its district neighbor. And other notes from Tuesday night's borough council meetings.
Going at it Alone? Baldwin Borough engineers Larry Souleret and Ned Mitrovich gave the Baldwin Council some surprising news during Tuesday night's regular council meeting. As a way of temporarily holding sewage water during periods of wet weather, Baldwin must move forward soon on a large water basin project adjacent to the Lick Run waterway, but it may have to do so without any involvement from Whitehall Borough, which also flows water to Lick Run. The water basin project is needed to satisfy a consent decree from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), whose officials have deemed that sewage water from south Baldwin and the nearby municipalities that also contribute to the Lick Run waterway (near Colewood Park) has led to …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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The decision does not come lightly, as things got heated on Tuesday night. More funds should be coming for the borough's road program, as well.
Chalk one up for the underdogs. Actually, chalk two up. John Conley played the role of swing voter at a special Baldwin Council meeting on Tuesday night, joining fellow Councilmen Bob Collet, Larry Brown and Ed Moeller in support of adding a full-time patrol officer to the Baldwin Borough Police Department roster. The foursome made up an unofficial majority during the meeting—which was scheduled as part of a continued discussion regarding the borough's 2013 budget—when council members couldn't agree on whether or not to add the police officer. Although the borough's 2013 budget hasn't been passed yet—it will have to be before 2012 is over—the trio of council President David Depretis, council Vice President Michael Stelmasczyk and council …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tracey LaPaglia says that she was assigned work that male officers weren't.
Tracey LaPaglia, a Baldwin Borough police officer who was injured while working for the borough in 2010, is claiming discrimination by borough leaders in a civil rights lawsuit filed in federal court on Wednesday. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, LaPaglia says that she was assigned secretarial duties after her injury—work that was never assigned to Baldwin's injured policemen. LaPaglia says that this is just one way that she was treated differently than injured male officers, the Tribune-Review reports. Baldwin Borough Manager John Barrett declined to comment on Wednesday night, saying that he needed to talk with borough solicitor Stanley B. Lederman before making any kind of a statement. The Baldwin-Whitehall Patch has …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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Wednesday, October 24, 2012
But council members still can't agree on what to spend the money on, if at all.
How the Numbers Add (and Subtract) Up Despite the reduction of an expected fund balance transfer from $600,000 to $250,000, Baldwin Borough's preliminary 2013 budget remains at a relatively small surplus after borough leaders have chipped away at expenses over the past month-and-a-half. And while borough officials continue to agree on minor cuts virtually across the board, one of the main reasons for the budget's above-water status is actually an encouraging growth in local earned income tax (EIT) revenue. As borough Manager John Barrett estimated at a special Baldwin Council meeting on Tuesday night, Baldwin residents are expected to contribute close to $2.3 million for the borough in EIT in 2013, up almost $224,000 from an earlier …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Leftovers from Tuesday night's Baldwin Council meeting.
Triangle Pet Control Services Contract Ended By a unanimous vote on Tuesday night, the Baldwin Council officially ended Baldwin Borough's contract with Triangle Pet Control Services, which was shut down by officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture on Oct. 1 after it allegedly defrauded the state by getting paid for services that it didn't perform. Baldwin Borough has been without animal control services throughout October as a result of the shutdown. On Oct. 2, borough Manager John Barrett said that Baldwin officials will "have to figure something out" in order to replace Triangle Pet. Borough Will Soon Stop Paying for Trash Collection at Apartments By another unanimous vote, the Baldwin Council agreed to have …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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James Behers resigns from his post on Tuesday night after he was illegally appointed in April.
It turns out that James Behers should never have been appointed to Baldwin Borough's Civil Service Commission—a quasi-judicial board that oversees the Baldwin Borough Police Department—in April, this year. The Baldwin Council accepted Behers' resignation from that commission on Tuesday night by a 4-3 vote, the same narrow margin tallied when Behers was appointed in the first place. Behers, a state constable who lives on Green Glen Drive, is ineligible for a spot on the Civil Service Commission, Councilman Bob Collet pointed out before motioning to accept Behers' resignation, because Section 1173 of the Pennsylvania Borough Code says so. That section reads, "No commissioner shall at the same time hold an elective or appointed office under …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Most of the money is for a Colewood Park water basin project. And other leftovers from an Oct. 9 council meeting.
Borrowing for DEP Consent Decree Forced to satisfy a consent decree from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Baldwin Borough Council is expected to approve a $14,175,000 general obligation bond issue on Oct. 16 that includes $9.7 million marked for sewer projects. Of the $9.7 million, $8.7 million is for a large water basin project near Colewood Park that includes the installation of a long stretch of pipeline that would run from roughly Hollowhaven Drive to the railway that crosses Horning Road. DEP officials have deemed that sewage water from south Baldwin and the nearby municipalities that also contribute to the Lick Run waterway has led to overflow in a Pleasant Hills Authority water treatment plant. The Colewood …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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Borough Manager Barrett has made adjustments to balance Baldwin's 2013 budget, but police Chief Scott says that he needs another officer.
Baldwin Borough Manager John Barrett and the Baldwin Council have erased an initial $1,059,742 budget shortfall for 2013 after Barrett has made cost-cutting and revenue-producing suggestions to the council during special budget meetings this fall, including one on Tuesday night. But Barrett and the borough councilmen will have to become more resourceful if they are to approve Baldwin police Chief Michael Scott's request to add another patrol officer to his staff. Scott made that request on Tuesday, and Barrett said that the potential new hire would mean an additional approximately $70,695 per year in borough spending, including things like health insurance for the officer. Chief Scott argued that, often, his department is only able to …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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Will (should) local borough councils support his efforts?
In what he's calling a "quality of life" issue, Baldwin Borough resident Jim Bowman of Jean Drive has asked the Baldwin Council to support the institution of a "quiet zone" in the area immediately surrounding the Jean-McAnulty Road intersection. Trouble is ... the railroad nearest Bowman's home may not be in Baldwin Borough and may be out of the Baldwin Council's full jurisdiction. As Bowman learned at a Baldwin Council meeting on Tuesday night, the loud train horns that he and his neighbors keep hearing are coming from a railroad that runs horizontally along the southern border of Whitehall Borough. In fact, as Baldwin Borough engineer Larry Souleret said while looking at a map on Tuesday, the railroad literally splits the border of …
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McAnulty Rd & Jean Dr, Pittsburgh, PA
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Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Millage rate will go down, but you'll probably pay more.
Taxes Go Down but Go Up? Expect a decrease in the local tax rate next year, Baldwin Borough property owners. But also, expect to pay more in local tax. Confused? You're probably not alone, but here's the explanation. Due to a recent countywide real estate reassessment that raised the value of most Baldwin properties, the Baldwin Council is expected to lower its millage rate—currently at 6.61 mills—in order to remain revenue-neutral. In other words, keeping the same millage rate for next year (when the reassessments take effect) would result in a "windfall" of increased tax revenue for the borough, something that is illegal. To balance that, the local council will almost surely lower Baldwin's millage rate when it approves the borough's …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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NE12Ukid
3:12 pm on Friday, December 7, 2012
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