Deadline looms for rent, property tax relief
The filing deadline to receive property tax and rent relief in Pennsylvania is Dec. 31. Thousands of dollars of rebates are still available for older adults and people with disabilities who meet the requirements. Eligible applicants can easily submit a rebate application online through myPATH. So far, 550,000 rebate applications have been processed for 2024, and 93% have been approved.
Source: WKBN27; 12/11/2024

NAR talks NFIP reforms, risks and real estate impacts
National Association of Realtors leaders sat down with an administrator from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for an interview about the implications of reauthorization and reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program. See the full interview here.
Source: NAR; 12/10/2024

Grants open for PA Solar for Schools program
Pennsylvania schools looking to switch to renewable energy can receive assistance from the state through its $25 million Solar for Schools grant program. The Solar for Schools Act passed in July. It provides for schools to receive grants for 30%, 40% or 50% of the total cost depending on need. The Department of Economic and Community Development will oversee the program and assist schools in the technical execution of their projects. The program takes advantage of the federal Inflation Reduction Act, which allows schools and other tax-exempt organizations to receive direct pay rather than tax credits for clean energy projects to make up the difference. Read more from The Center Square.
Source: The Center Square; 12/5/2024 

Central Bucks approves $235M for elementary school renovations
The Central Bucks School Board approved spending $235 million for renovations to five of the district’s 15 elementary schools. The money will be directed toward improvements including new electrical systems, updated libraries, and new roofs at Barclay, Buckingham, Gayman, Titus and Warwick elementary schools. Discussions continue on the future of Linden, Kutz and Doyle elementary schools. Plans for those facilities are being fiercely debated, as community discussions take place on plans to close Kutz and Linden and place those students in a newly built Doyle Elementary. School directors plan to hear more from the community before plans for those schools will be finalized by May 2025. The board will host a series of town hall meetings on the matter, with the ability to submit questions in advance and during the meetings. Watch the Central Bucks School District website for updates.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 12/9/2024

Bristol Township eyes small tax hike for fire and trash
Bristol Township’s proposed $71.9 million budget for 2025 includes a 1-mill tax increase to support fire protection services and a $50 bump in the annual trash fee. The proposed 1-mill increase would raise the fire tax from its current rate to 3.98 mills. For a home with an average assessed value of $20,000, it translates to an additional $20 per year in property taxes. Township Manager Randee Mazur said the fire tax increase is due to the township transitioning away from using federal COVID-19 funds to support the fire companies. Mazur said moving to a 24-7 paid fire department would cause a much larger tax increase. The trash fee increase of $50 per household is attributed to the increased cost under the $34.5 million multi-year contract with Waste Management. The proposed budget is available for public review on the township website before final adoption, expected at the Thursday, Dec. 19, meeting.
Source: LevittownNow; 12/10/2024

Website launched for Washington Crossing bridge project
The Washington Crossing Bridge is a toll-supported bridge that connects Bucks County to Mercer County, New Jersey. The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) has been looking into options on how to approach the 119-year-old span — including doing nothing, rehabilitating it, replacing it or using it in a new, different manner. The commission has called the bridge a “bane” to motorists, characterizing it as a narrow, “operationally challenged” span with “rubble-filled masonry piers built on wooden-crib foundations.” Local residents in Upper Makefield don’t feel the same way and have come out in opposition to any major changes. Township officials have initiated a process to have the bridge, and possibly nearby buildings, placed on the National Register of Historic Places. DRJTBC launched a website that will feature increasingly in-depth information about what, if anything, may be done with the bridge.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 12/9/2024

North Wales Water Authority explains postcards sent to property owners
North Wales Water Authority (NWWA) posted an explanation about a mailer sent out to customers that is part of a program mandated by the state and federal environmental protection agencies under the Lead and Copper Rule. The mailer is designed to help NWWA identify, inventory, and address any risks associated with lead in older service lines. “The water leaving our Forest Park Water Treatment Facility is always free of lead. However, lead can contaminate drinking water as it travels through lead-containing plumbing components, including water service lines,” the authority said. The NWWA serves multiple municipalities in Bucks and Montgomery counties. Read more here.
Source: North Wales Water Authority; 12/2024 

North Coventry budget to hike taxes 5% in 2025
North Coventry Township supervisors will hold a meeting on Friday, Dec. 20, to formally adopt a $7.1 million 2025 budget that will increase property taxes by 5%. According to information provided by Township Manager Erica Batdorf, the budget would result in a 0.16-mill increase, from 3.28 mills to 3.44 mills. For a property assessed at $200,000, the increase would hike the annual tax bill by $32. “We are looking to address a deficit of $163,456 using reserve [funds] in the amount of $86,666 with the tax increase helping to cover the remaining $76,790,” Batdorf said.
Source: Daily Local; 12/6/2024

Oxford residents to receive notices about water lines
Oxford Borough Manager Pauline Garcia-Allen said that 650 residents will receive letters regarding the use of copper and lead pipes. Efforts are underway to replace water mains every other year, and more information will be sent to property owners. Garcia-Allen also provided an update on the property at 343 S. Third St. The borough has been unable to locate an heir to the owner of the property, and court proceedings are underway to allow a conservator to repurpose the building.
Source: Chester County Press; 11/27/2024

Westtown closes on Crebilly Farm property
Westtown Township has closed on the purchase of Crebilly Farm. The $20 million sale was completed on Dec. 9, according to a press release. The closing secures the largest portion of the approximately 308-acre farm. Westtown Township solicitor Patrick M. McKenna, a partner at Gawthrop Greenwood, administered the closing with Westtown Township and the Robinson family, the owners and stewards of Crebilly Farm. The purchase ends a seven-year, public and private effort to secure the property from developers and preserve the site for a passive-use public park and walking trails. Read the full press release here.
Source: Chadds Ford Live; 12/9/2024

North Coventry plans to build new township building
North Coventry Township has begun the process of designing a new municipal building in a new location. According to information provided in the township’s budget presentation, the current plan is to locate the new building at Hanover Meadows, the 22-acre property the township owns off Lenape Way, between Route 100 and South Hanover Street, where the public works building is already located. The deed labeled the property as Open Space at Town Square, but it listed no specific restrictions against building on the land. Originally, the township had planned to move both the public works and police departments to the site, but that plan was scaled back to include just the public works.The police and the administrative offices continue to occupy a 7,762-square-foot building constructed in 1945 at the corner of South Hanover and Urner streets, adjacent to the Alliance Christian School. It houses 19 employees.
Source: Daily Local; 12/6/2024

Unionville-Chadds Ford community discusses middle school study findings
The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District (UCFSD) community reviewed architectural firm Marotta/Main’s report on whether to maintain, renovate or replace the district’s current middle school. The school board voted in June to commission a feasibility study on options for the property.  Another presentation about the study, along with a recommendation, will be held at a special board meeting on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, from 7 to 10 p.m. at Charles F. Patton Middle School. On Feb. 18, the board will vote on whether to maintain, renovate or replace the current middle school. Additional information about the Middle School Feasibility Study is available on the UCFSD website.
Source: Chester County Press; 12/4/2024

Judge issues ruling relating to Aqua’s DELCORA purchase
A Delaware County judge issued a ruling on a key matter in the saga of Aqua Pennsylvania’s attempt to acquire DELCORA — the Delaware County Regional Water Authority, the sewer system that serves a half-million people in 46 municipalities in Delaware and Chester counties. Aqua in 2019 signed a $276.5 million asset purchase agreement with the authority. The following year, a new slate of Delaware County Council members worked to block the sale, including introducing an ordinance to terminate the authority and transfer its assets to the county. Commonwealth Court determined that the county had the right to terminate the authority, but it also ruled that DELCORA had the ability to enter into the asset purchase agreement with Aqua. In 2023, DELCORA filed a complaint in county court, maintaining there were “matters of uncertainty and actual controversy” under the ordinance the county enacted — but in the latest ruling, Common Pleas Judge Barry C. Dozor disagreed. “There is no uncertainty or controversy remaining as to Delaware County Ordinance 2020-4 (directing Delcora to terminate) or the Asset Purchase Agreement pursuant to the Municipal Authorities Act,” Dozor ruled. “... the issues that Delcora asked this Court to decide have already been fully litigated and decided, no uncertainty remains, and those issues cannot be relitigated in this case.”
Source: Daily Times; 12/7/2024