Hidden Costs to Consider When 'Flipping' a House

A local realtor addresses some points to ponder when considering if flipping a home is practical and within your budget.

Neshaminy Preliminary Budget Marked by $11.4M Deficit

The Neshaminy School Board approved a proposal preliminary budget Tuesday night for the 2013-14 school year.

In accordance with Act 1, the Neshaminy School Board unanimously approved the proposed preliminary budget for the 2013-2014 school year Tuesday night. The budget currently has a $11,439,001 deficit. Superintendent Robert Copeland assured the community that this is "very preliminary" and that he and district administrators will be taking a new approach to putting together the budget -- an approach he is bringing from his experience in previous school districts. "We’re taking a very close look at every single department and budget item," he stated, adding that he and the administration "really scrubbed the budget very thoroughly." "What you see here is a first run. We still have a lot of work to do," Copeland said. Business administrator …

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Neshaminy School Board to Begin Budget Process

The Neshaminy School Board will meet Tuesday night and consider approving a preliminary budget for the next school year.

The Neshaminy School Board will begin its budget process Tuesday night by considering approving a proposed preliminary budget for the 2013-2014 school year. This is just an initial step in adopting a final budget and being done in accordance with Act 1. The budget will be a topic of discussion at board meetings until a final budget it adopted by the end of June 2013. In addition, at Tuesday's work session, the school board will consider approving two overnight trips. Superintendent Robert Copeland will give his report, which is typically announcing good news within the district. The meeting will be held at Maple Point Middle School at 7 p.m. Visit the Neshaminy School District website to view the full agenda for the meeting.

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Fiscal Cliff Avoided by Late Night Vote

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick voted for the deal, which maintains income tax rates for people making less than $400,000 and couples earning less than $450,000 a year.

After months of negotiating, arguing and handwringing, the United States avoided tumbling over the dreaded fiscal cliff Tuesday night when the House of Representatives passed the Senate proposal by a 257-167 vote, CNN reports. After House Speaker John Boehner spiked an idea to re-open the Senate deal to add more spending cuts, Congress approved the measure with 172 votes from Democrats and 85 from Republicans, including Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (PA-8). "In August 2012, I voted to extend tax rates and other tax provisions for all taxpayers - a measure which the Senate refused to take up," said Fitzpatrick in a statement released by his office. "Throughout the fiscal cliff debate, my number one priority has been to maintain the lowest rates …

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Dogman

5:52 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013

Ask and ye shall receive. Spending as a percentage of GDP has gone down and is projected to further decrease. http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/us_20th_century_chart.html   more ›

No Tax Increase Projected in $55 Million 2013 Bristol Township Budget

After last year's cuts, what do you think of the proposed 2013 spending plan for Bristol Township.

After years in a “precarious financial position,” Bristol Township Manager Bill McCauley wrote in a memo that the township has “made incredible progress” toward fixing the municipalities’s budget woes. The $55,214,380 proposed 2013 budget features no tax increases and remained balanced without having to dip into reserve accounts like Middletown officials are suggesting. The millage rate of 23.987 will remain. While the township has improved its financial condition over the past few months, McCauley said $85 million in unfunded liabilities exist. The manager stated that unless municipal unions are willing to cooperate with collective bargaining agreement more layoffs or hour reductions could be possible.   In the past year, several township…

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BTSD Submits Concept Plans for New Schools

The Bristol Township School Board approved submission of preliminary plans that would shutter some schools, renovate others and construct new ones.

  The Bristol Township School Board approved 5-1 the submission of PlanCon materials to the state Department of Education. The district’s PlanCon packets, which were prepared by the Schrader Group, layout potential plans to construct new, larger elementary schools and renew the middle and high schools. The PlanCon submission does not mean the district has to embark on the project, estimated to have a price tag of more than $170 million dollars. The district also does not have to carry out the plans in full. “These are very preliminary plans,” Dave Schrader, managing partner at the Schrader Group, said to the board during Thursday night’s meeting. The PlanCon materials have to be presented to the state by October 1 if the district wants to …

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NSB Approves Final Budget With No Tax Increase

The Neshaminy School Board adopted the final 2012-2013 budget Tuesday night.

The Neshaminy School Board unanimously approved the final 2012-2013 budget, which included no tax hike. The final $165,244,541 budget was balanced by utilizing spending cuts and delays suggested by district administrators as well as borrowing about $5.5 million from the district's reserves, which would leave about $9.5 million in the district's savings. One of the programs that survived the cuts was The Learning Center [TLC] program, which was due to Principal Joann Holland's presented to the board a decreased budget for the school. In order to move forward with this plan, which includes some staffing cuts, the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers had to agree to not file a grievance against the district in response. NFT President Louise Boyd …

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NSB to Consider Approving Final Budget Tonight

The Neshaminy School Board will meet tonight at 7 p.m.

The Neshaminy School Board will convene at 7 p.m. tonight at Maple Point Middle School to consider approving the final 2012-2013 budget. This meeting was rescheduled from June 19 to give district administrators more time to prepare the final budget for approval. The school board will also consider approving new and revised board policies, including the acceptable use of computers, network, Internet, electronic communications and technical services policy; the employment background check policy; and the child abuse reporting policy. In addition, the board will appoint a representative for the health consortium panel. The board will also consider a motion to commit a portion of the fund balance to the future pending PSERS funding crisis. …

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Neshaminy School Board Meeting Rescheduled

The Neshaminy School Board's June 19 meeting has been rescheduled.

The Neshaminy School Board was scheduled to meet June 19 for the final school board meeting of the school year, however that meeting has been rescheduled for June 26 at 7 p.m. in Maple Point Middle School. The meeting was rescheduled to allow more time for district administrators to prepare the final 2012-2013 budget for the board's approval. State law mandates that school districts must approve a final balanced budget by June 30.

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Neshaminy Budget Recommendations Continue

Neshaminy Superintendent Louis Muenker made more cost saving recommendations for the 2012-2013 budget.

Similar to the past two school board meetings, Superintendent Louis Muenker announced recommendations to help balance the 2012-2013 budget Tuesday evening. Read more: NFT 'Hopeful' Arbitration Will Spark Serious Negotiations Muenker's recommendations to date would bring the 2012-13 budget deficit to approximately $7.4 million. At Tuesday's board meeting, Muenker said that the district has worked with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit to find a savings of $896,783. However, the school board approved a contract for for special education services from the BCIU for 2012-2013, which will cost the district more than $10 million. The school district is legally required to provide special education and related services to children from pre-school…

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