Wednesday, December 26, 2012
The $29.97 million upgrade will replace the aging, fault-prone current system. Lower Merion Township has suffered from spotty radio coverage with the current system.
Last Thursday, Montgomery County approved the purchase of a $29.97 million public safety radio system, paving the way for the replacement of an existing radio system that dates to 1996 and has recently been plagued by numerous failures and shortcomings. Commissioner Bruce Castor, who led the committee charged with the task of guiding the replacement process, attributed historic significance to the upgrade. "This is probably the most significant piece of legislation and the most significant decision the commissioners have made in the five years I've been a commissioner and maybe in the 28 years that I've served in county government," Castor said. The county's existing system, which was also built by Motorola, suffers from numerous drawbacks…
Friday, April 13, 2012
New policies governing bids for county business, employee ethics introduced as new administration marks 100 days in office.
The current Montgomery County Board of Commissioners marked its first 100 days in office Thursday morning with a special meeting that introduced new county ethics and procurement policies intended to increase transparency and eliminate patronage and corruption from county government. Board chairman Josh Shapiro said Thursday marked the beginning of a "new era" for Montgomery County. Reading from a prepared statement, Shapiro said the new procurement policy will "ensure a level playing field and a good value for the taxpayers" while the "totally revamped" ethics policy will "value integrity and not one's political agenda." New procurement policy favors local businesses, punishes misconduct The new procurement policy replaces a policy passed…
Thursday, March 1, 2012
CFO Uri Monson: 'Disingenuous' budgeting process included 'questionable assumptions,' didn't reflect real costs of operating county government
When the previous Montgomery County Board of Commissioners approved the county's 2012 operating budget in December, it included an across-the-board 2.5 percent cut for most county departments. It did not, however, include specific instructions for how those cuts should be achieved. As March begins, that process is ongoing. Uri Monson, the county's chief financial officer, told the current board of commissioners on Thursday that the county's various courts, departments, and offices had so far managed to make $7.72 million in "adjustments" to comply with the budget, but that more changes would be needed to close the remaining gap of $2.24 million. The county distributed copies of Jan. 5 memos sent by Monson to virtually all county offices in…
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
County 9-1-1 dispatch earns accreditation; other notes from county commissioners meeting.
Montgomery County will have to reckon with "very, very negative" effects from the "bare bones" budget announced by Governor Tom Corbett earlier this month, according to Montgomery County Commissioner Josh Shapiro. Shapiro cited the Parkhouse in Upper Providence as his chief example of the Corbett budget's impact. The facility for the aging and chronically ill will lose between $800,000 and $1 million of its funding under the Corbett budget. Cutting occupancy at the facility is not a solution, Shapiro said, because doing so would cut the Parkhouse's eligibility for other sources of funding. The county's office of Children and Youth also stands to take a big hit from the Corbett proposal and could lose $170,000 from its budget, Shapiro said…
Thursday, December 1, 2011
On the chopping block: the parks department and library services.
Montgomery County residents may yet avoid a tax increase for 2012, but only at the cost of massive reductions or eliminations of iconic county services and amenities. A $384.8 million preliminary operating budget for 2012 would eliminate the county’s parks department and planning commission, while slashing or ending appropriations to the county library system, the Elmwood Park Zoo, Montgomery County Community College, and other institutions. The budget, which was approved for advertisement Wednesday by the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, “would change county government as we know it,” according to James Maza, the county’s deputy chief operating officer. Proposed tax increase: $130 per homeowner If taxes are not increased, the …
