Nockamixon supervisors entertained a comprehensive status report at their monthly meeting from Ryan Pankoe, chief of Upper Bucks Regional Emergency Medical Services, and the group’s treasurer Jim Nilsen.
Posted
Cliff Lebowitz
For just the second time since 2009, Nockamixon Township will have a real estate tax increase.
The 2022 budget, approved at the Nov. 18 public board of supervisors meeting, includes the addition of one-third mill, for a new total of 6.66 mills.
The same action was taken for last year’s budget, when the estimated annual average impact on residents was $11. The stated need for the increase was also the same: increased support for fire service, which officials said was the same reasoning for the 2009 increase.
The $1.13 million budget is projected to be exceeded by $1.2 million in income. The tax increase for 2022 is understood to be the second of three installments, for a total of 0.99 mill by 2023.
Earlier in the Nov. 18 meeting, supervisors entertained a comprehensive status report from Ryan Pankoe, chief of Upper Bucks Regional Emergency Medical Services (UBREMS), and the group’s treasurer Jim Nilsen.
The report noted a substantial loss of billing “during the first five months of COVID-19” and a major increase in payroll when a 9% annual increase for emergency technicians and paramedics (noted as less than that paid for workers in fast food restaurants) was increased to 30%.
As noted at ubrems.org, the group “is a Paramedic Mobile Intensive Care Unit licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to provide Advanced Life Support treatment and transport of the critically ill and injured. Our response area encompasses approximately 185 square miles in the 9 municipalities of Bedminster, Bridgeton, Durham, Haycock, Nockamixon, Riegelsville, Richland, Springfield and Tinicum in addition to providing aid to the surrounding areas.”
UBREMS relies on financial support from the townships it serves (based on their populations) and other sources like subscriptions and insurance payments, when coverage applies. Services are provided at no cost to residents, with average response time for Nockamixon calls estimated at 7 minutes.
Also at the Nov. 18 meeting, Solicitor Maureen B. Carlton announced that a new ordinance was in the works to address a need for regulation of short-term rentals in the township. Research is being conducted on how other townships are handling that need, with the December or January supervisors’ meeting targeted as the presentation date.
At their Oct. 21 meeting, supervisors authorized the addition of the 30-acre Caccavo property on Gallows Hill Road to the township’s Agricultural Security Area (ASA). The property is adjacent to over 300 acres of farmland preserved by Caccavo since 2015.
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