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Cornwall Borough Council agreed to pass its draft 2025 budget at its meeting Monday.
The budget, with both revenues and expenditures totaling around $3.38 million, was passed by all council members except for councilman Thomas Burton, who opposed the budget for undisclosed reasons.
Council also unanimously agreed to pass a resolution setting the tax rate for 2025, with millage remaining the same from previous years.
In other business, council discussed the potential purchase of iPads for council members, a debate that has been ongoing for several months.
Council president Bruce Harris said he believes council should hold off on considering the purchase until after new servers are purchased and installed for the borough and police department buildings, which are expected to incur substantial costs for the borough. He said he would rather wait on unnecessary expenditures, and other council members agreed with Harris and the agenda item was tabled.
Cornwall Borough seeks planning commission applications
Council unanimously agreed to reappoint Jeff Snyder to the planning commission on Monday. However, as multiple in attendance noted, Snyder hopes to retire soon from the position.
Snyder will mark 27 years on the commission in just a few months, Harris said. By that time, council hopes the borough will have found another resident willing to serve in the volunteer position.
When asked what the requirements are for the position, borough manager Cody Rhoads said the only hard-and-fast rule is that an applicant must reside in Cornwall.
Beyond that, engineering or planning experience are recommended but not required, Rhoads said. An interested party could learn from experience over the course of the five-year term.
The planning commission reviews development plans submitted to the borough and plays a key role recommending approval of waivers and the plans themselves to council.
Judgements are made based on how well plans hold up to regulations and requirements — the commission is not at liberty to reject plans based on members’ personal feelings about the development.
Interested parties should contact the borough to file an application.
In other news, council:
- Unanimously agreed to authorize the signing of the Dairy Road Pump Station financing agreement, concerning the construction of a new wastewater pump shared between North Cornwall Township and several other municipalities. Councilman Bruce Conrad said the borough negotiated for 650,000 gallons per day, which it is not expected to reach in the foreseeable future even with developments.
- Gave verbal permission to resident Jo Raussi, who would like to work with the parks and recreation department to consider the formation of a Veterans’ Park, to be paid for with donations. Harris said, “I think it’s a wonderful idea.”
- Unanimously agreed to authorize the hire of a new employee for public works and agreed to retain a retiring employee on a part-time, as-needed basis.
- Unanimously agreed to promote Matthew Rothgaber to patrolman-grade four.
- Unanimously agreed to set meeting locations for 2025, with meetings to take place in the borough building.
- Unanimously approved minutes and reports.
Cornwall Borough Council meets the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. These meetings are open to the public and do not require prior registration.
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