.



SIGNUP FOR
the NEWSLOOP




HOME

CONTACT US

FIND YOUR
COMMISSIONE
R


TOWNSHIP
WEBSITE


Major Initiatives
COMPREHENSIVE
PLAN

ECON DEVELOPMT CORP

Representation
VOTING - ELECTIONS

Development
COLONADE/100 YORK
ST BASILS/TOLL BROS
GALMAN -FOXCROFT SC
WILLOW GROVE MALL
ST.MICHAEL'S
NOBLE TRAIN AREA
BAEDERWOOD SHOP CNTR
FAIRWAY TRANSIT DISTRICT
ZONING REWRITES
YOUR HOUSE RE-ZONED?
ZONING VARIANCES
WAWA - BAEDER RD
YORK RD CORRIDOR PROJECT
CORRIDOR REVITALIZATION
WILLIARD COMPLEX IN GLENSIDE
MCDONALDS - DUNKIN DONUTS


Parks / Environ
BOY SCOUT PRESERVE
MANOR WOODS
OPEN SPACE
ARDSLEY WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
HUNTER SOCCER CLUBHOUSE
TV ACCESS CHANNELS
DEER HUNTS IN TOWNSHIP
FLOODING
WATER QUALITY
PESTICIDE SPRAYING
BILLBOARDS
MARCELLUS SHALE/FRACKING

Safety
POLICE MATTTERS
SOLICITORS AT DOORS
MASSAGE PARLORS
RED LIGHT CAMERAS

ILLEGAL ALIENS
E-VERIFY PROGRAM

CONTRACTOR REGISTRY


Services

TRASH - PAY TO THROW
LITTER

LOST AND FOUND

Communication
PUBLIC COMMENT
COMMUNITY GROUPS
ACTIVITIES -EVENTS
TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT
FIND YOUR COMMISSIONER
COMMERCIALS ON TV
CELL PHONE TOWERS


Schools
SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT

SCHOOL ISSUES

Tools For Residents
WHERE TO FIND LAWS AND REGS
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE
TOOLS FOR RESIDENTS


Finance
TAX COLLECTION COSTS

THE BUDGET PROCESS
THE TAX PROCESS
TAX ABATEMENTS
RYDAL WATERS
EMINENT DOMAIN IN ROSLYN
ZONING &
DEVELOPMENT



Employment

JOBS FOR OUR KIDS



and more...
CONTACT US
SITE MAP
INCLUDE YOUR ISSUE
ABOUT THIS NETWORK
POLICIES
PRIVACY
DISCLAIMER
REPORT ABUSES
CORRECT AN ERROR

ANONYMOUS REPORTING



Regarding Postings:
All views
Pro and Con
including
multiple views
on either side
will be given
equal access
on this site-
that said:
 "facts" are important

 

The Abington Citizens Network
where Abington, PA residents can share ideas and join forces to build a better community

 

The Abington Township 2024 Budget

    Please feel free to send your  information to us and please be sure to contact us about any information you believe to be incorrect 

   PROPOSED 2024 BUDGET VOTE  12-14-23 7PM

Zoom link in the 1st paragraph  of this link  (
or attend in person)  https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/abingtonpa/a396cc2a-70c2-11ed-9024-0050569183fa-ca2b9c28-b9cf-4f17-b573-dd2752d4679e-
1702484798.pdf
 

FULL BUDGET
interactive version IS HERE
www.abingtonPA.gov/budget   or    https://stories.opengov.com/abingtonpa/published/UzavubsUoOF  

    Pic-Twain-EasierToFool

  LOTS OF TOM FOOLERY IN THIS BUDGET  :

--- FALSE INFORMATION GIVEN - SO NOW WE KNOW WHY DOCUMENTS ARE WITHHELD  EACH OCTOBER -  (see chart at the end of this section) Manfredi told you all the operating and Capital Funds totaled $77 M . That was not true. They totalled $95M. That is why he withholds the documents from you.  He decided to exclude the $16M Capital fund that holds the ARPA Covid relief  and give you a number that was closer to what you are used to hearing.

--- 3/4 of a million dollars for the Economic Development Corporation that we were
repeatedly told we were not going to be funding this despised entity .... just giving it a little help to get it up and running, they said .  And there is not a single project in sight - not a single project, with financial breakdown has ever been presented. Can you even imagine what would benefit you so much that you would spend several million on?  You will have already paid  that when this passes. It might even be something problematic. Clearly some will be benefitting from your generous millions - but this is not how budgets are done.... you should not you approve funding and THEN find out what they plan to build.


--- 11 MILLION for PARKS - NO SPECIFIC PROJECTS IN SIGHT  In that same vein,  we are approving  $11 million for parks with absolutely NO IDEA what they have decided their priority projects are .  This is the same administration  that ignored your parks for years, made a mess of Karebrook and the  Boy Scout Preserve. The entire time Manfredi has been here - he had been unable even to appoint people capable of restoring the frame of a park bulletin board and putting useful information inside it.  Yet they have just gifted themselves 11 million of your dollars to do whatever they want . Instead of the Parks Director creating a plan, for his very generous salary,  a consultant was hired. Some on that team couldn't even pronounce the names of our parks . They created an all encompassing "plan" that basically listed everything you could possibly ever do in nearly every park... with no actual priority list .Now they will say the public DID approve it   ...you know .... at Budget  time where the public  had three minutes for  800 pages, no workshops or proper presentations  --oh and your three minutes is also to comment on an entire months agenda items. This is not in the public interest..... was not done like this  in the past, and represents the cutting out of Abington's residents.  

--- CONSTRUCTION SERVICES NOT FOUND  - and a third place where we are approving large chunks of money and don't know what the project is. Some of what is  allocated for the Construction services team is on page 137  but and despite asking, they would not help in time to understand this before the vote . The Construction Services  Team gave a wildly ridiculous presentation (AFTER our comments were over ) on Nov 9, 2023. They were  purporting to show how much money they saved.  In this, the "created" their own bid amounts to show how much more others would have charged - and they even inserted "labor" costs - when the whole construction services team is on salary already . It is unlikely they calculated pension & benefits like  medical,  social security, insurance, etc. But competitors bidding would have to include all of those.  Plus, besides paying for all that, YOU are buying their equipment , repairing it when it breaks down. Competitors have to factor all that in.   It was stunning to watch this -- Yet another attempt to dupe the public and done without the ability to ask any questions or get any answers.  That is a problem in and of itself in this Township, isn't it? 

--- SLUSH FUNDS - Projects and the spending of money is supposed to be vetted in public with ample time for the public to comment .  Previously departments presented their budget requests and if something was an "ask" in the budget, it had been presented at  a meeting with public comment.  But Richard Manfredi's budgets, from the beginning,  had all kinds of hidden items, that were not vetted at all - they were simply unexplained line items - and our right to question or comment  so curtailed that we were unaware of what all was being approved ...and frankly I believe the Commissioners were , too.  A feasibility study for a new Township building, when no presentation had been given to say why one was needed. $100K for Construction services - what project did you have in mind that helped you come to that number?  At one point, Manager Manfredi put  $485K in his own contigency fund, up from the standard $100 or $150, which is already an outrageous amount to have in your "change jar" and  afterward we were given conflicting answers on how the money had been spent. Money should not be approved unless we know clearly what the plan is ... and we tell our Commissioners we approve. That is how it is supposed to work.

---  WHERE ARE THE NON-APPROPRIATED FUNDS  Of the $77M ,  $1.7 M has not been appropriated.  We cannot find what that $1.7 M is to be used for  and why -- because despite all the promises they DON'T actually answer questions. 

--- PILOT MYSTERY     Until 2018, Abington Hospital used to pay   $437K as a "payment in lieu of taxes"  (PILOT) per their agreement .  This year,  FIVE entities  made PILOT ( Payment in Lieu of taxes ) payments . I cannot find which five, nor the exact amounts - but only $637 K has been collected so something seems quite off, since  in several earlier years only a few hundred was collected but Abington Hospital's share wqas $437K .  I was unable to get proper explanations for this, despite all the claims that questions will be answered. Clearly they are not.  I was ultimately told that the specific entities were  I expect the entities are Abington-Jefferson// Holy Redeemer//PennState Abington//Manor College - and maybe Rydal Park . But shouldn't we KNOW this...?

--- AUDITOR AND EVERYONE ELSE NOT CATCHING MAJOR ERROR  Somehow, magically, the Auditor missed that the tax millage increased in 2020 by 10% . A chart was made that would likely have been carried forward ad infinitum  with this tax increase missing . How did  our finance team magically do that? How did the auditors miss something that big --- and how many others review Audit report (ACFR) when it is published and everyone missed that too????????  Who IS minding hthe farm? 

--- REMOVING EMPLOYEE STATS FROM OUR SIGHT   A huge part of our budget is employe expense.   Manager Manfredi has removed the names of the employees, their poitions and the salaries they make.  This is a big deal - because this Manager has shuffled people around like a magician doing a bad card trick. With his own salary equivalent to the Governor of PA and our Police Chief more than the NY Police Commissioner, and two Code Directors who already had full time jobs in Emergency Management and as Fire Marshal, we deserve to be able to see everyone's name, position and salary in our budget. Previously we could - we want that restored.

--- MORE CODE ENFORCEMENT IS NEEDED  what are the new positions being added ? Are any for additional code?
We should be able to see that, but can't.

---USE OF SURPLUS FUNDS  p 28 Since the surplus going to OPEB and Capital Fund, this encourages the Township to inflate the Operating budget which they have done for multiple years - charging us for more than they need and  thereby creating  a large surplus which doesn't reduce our taxes - they now allow themselves to spend that.  The rule for any surplus should be rewritten.  Surplus funds should  only  be used to pay down debt and otherwise be returned to the fund balance to keep taxes down. When we have adequate amounts in the general fund, our taxes should be reduced.


Pic-OperatingFundsPic-CapitalFunds

THERE IS SO MUCH MORE - BUT TIME RESTRICTS A BETTER ANALYSIS --- IT IS UP TO ALL OF US  TO MAKE SURE WE GET SOME OF THE TRANSPARENCY BACK THAT IS BEING REMOVED.

   STOLEN TRANSPARENCY  

---  Not allowing ample time to review or to speak on the budget has cut residents out of the process almost entirely 

---- NO  PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPING THE BUDGET
      Providing no early public presentations,  so the public can have a say in the developing budget ...NO workshops
      and if Commissioners are participating  out of the oublic

--- VIOLATION OF TOWNSHIP POLICY
      Withholding the document itself entirely upon the 1st (late) presentation in October is a violation of  Township policy
       means no meaningful public comment can result before the voting meeting

---  PUBLIC COMMENT RENEDERED MEANINGLESS
      Holding the FIRST informed public comment on the date of the first vote
     (this renders that comment relatively meaningless as no changes are likely
      to be made at such a late date)

--- ACCOUNTABILITY IS NON-EXISTENT
     NO accountability for tax increases - no specific reasons given

--- EXCESSIVE NON ESSENTIAL INFO OBSCURES THE ESSENTIAL
    Ballooning up the pages with nonsense, non budget related information as a
     purposeful and effective block to transparency- very few will read through
     all those pages and pages of non budget related nonsense

--- DEPT INFORMATION IS NOT  COMPLETE AND IN ONE PLACE
     Removing the clear and explicit Dept information showing personnel,
     salaries and department expenses in one concise area of the budget

--- EMPLOYEE INFORMATION REMOVED
      Removing the names of employees, their positions and their salaries altogether

--- TEENY TINY PRINT - USELESS CHARTS AND GRAPHS
     The
 actual necessary figures are written so tiny you can't read them - often
      this is because of the useless, space consuming  pie charts and graphs.
     There should be a
 

--- Adopting  a non-searchable main budget  format  ( the most difficult budget format to find things that we have ever had )
     - they are using a model created by DCED and for those who work with the budget everyday it becaomes 2nd nature
       to know where things are  and how to reach them - but for residents whose job is oversight.....this iprevents it.
     
--- Adopting  a budget you cannot archive for year to year comparisons, etc.

--- Using multiple names, sometimes  3 or 4 different ones,  for the same feature

   WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEBACLE THAT OUR BUDGET PROCESS HAS BECOME? 

Manager Richard Manfredi arrived in may of 2017 --  The 2018 budget was already underway -- but the 2019 budget was his first great work of stolen transparency. All of his actions have been supported by Tom Hecker and Matt Vahey who have taken over the Board.

In 2019 he planned out a 30% tax increase - an outrageous amount - far, far higher than any  we had ever received in Abington -- EVER. He planned the first third as a "test" in 2020 -- and when he saw that no one really got too upset with that - he planned to continue with part 2 . 

But Covid hit us in 2020 -- and he held off part 2 until 2021 --- when we got  the 2nd 20% increase, it was a  27 % increase in our taxes . Add that to the nearly 10% we just had and altogether you have a tax hike that is just a little under 40% over a 3 year period.  Insane. It allowed Manfredi more than 3 million dollars over what any of his predecessors were working with .   And still the wants and needs of the residents are being ignored, some even kept in grave danger, while developers are welcomed with open arms.

The way wealth is transferred is on full display in Abington Township. That hurts America - and all Abington residents and taxpayers.

    Please feel free to send your  information to us  and please be sure to  tell us about any information you believe to be incorrect - just contact us  

 

 


  The Newsloop
    Sign up here to receive our periodic Newsloop updates on issues that matter to us all.
Knowledge is power. Stay informed to help shape your community and make a difference.

Abington Township revamped the entire Township website at the end of 2015 and broke all the links to the information. In 2017, under Richard Manfredi, someone inexperienced was assigned to redo the entire website again. The public was not asked what problems they would like to see fixed. Their new plan was not well thought out, so everything was very hard to find and there were giant paragraphs you had to slog through in order to find the pertinent one or two lines that you needed. Or if you were lucky enough to even find the meetings and agenda page, there was (and still is) a whole page of nonsense on top, so you think you're on the wrong page. Zoom limks are burrid in a giant paragraph, so people can't find them to attend the meeting. They know about these  problems - but have just decided to ignore us.... for the whole of Richard Manfredi's time here (with Tom Hecker's consent).

 Now, in 2025, we are due to get a new Manager, and there are funds put aside to, once again, upgrade the Township website. We can only hope for a fresh chance at fixing some of these things, as our Township website is the best tool we have for communication and should be an easy, user friendly site for all.

We need volunteers willing to work together to help improve the Township site that everyone has to use,  to make it functional and accessible. 

 We will be repairing our broken links in this Abington Citizens site, too, and fixing some of our many, many typo's as much as is possible. (Yes, it's quite evident that, unlike the Township, WE don't have a paid staff of 275+ or a $93 million budget).

 So...please let us know if you find broken links or typos. Send us the URL and/or and the name of the page it is on, so we can correct it.
Thanks for the help.

DISCLAIMER:
The information in this site, like any site, may have unintentional inaccuracies. These pages also have opinions.
Nothing should not be relied upon as fact until it is confirmed personally by the reader. 
Please read our full Disclaimer and read our Policies page before using this site.
Again..... if you find inaccuracies or even grammatical errors,  please contact us so we may correct them.