43
Trustees taking meetings to the people
Township trustees are taking their meetings to residents with the hope of getting higher attendance and opinions on future levies.
The trustees’ first meeting of 2011 will be at 5:30 p.m. Monday in St. John Greek Orthodox Church, 4955 Glenwood Ave.
“We want to get people more involved in what’s going on, and if we’re out there, it’ll be easier for them,” said Trustee Larry Moliterno.
The meetings will be in churches through April instead of the township administration building on Market Street, said Administrator Jason Loree.
“We’re taking it to the road, hoping to get more participation,” Loree said. “We might be using those offshoots for people to give us their thoughts on issues like another levy.”
In November, a 3.85-mill, five-year additional levy for police services that would have brought in an estimated $3.7 million annually was defeated by voters.
If the trustees want to put a police levy on the May ballot, they would need to submit the paperwork by the first week of February, said Trustee Tom Costello.
If the trustees decide to put a levy on the May ballot, they first would have to give two readings of the police issue, and there are only two regular meetings — Monday and Jan. 24 — scheduled before that February deadline.
“We lost our ballot by 430 votes. We blame ourselves for not having gotten out the message enough,” Costello said.
He added that St. John’s was specifically chosen for the first meeting because that is where residents of Newport Glen and Forest Glen vote — and where support was highest for the November police levy.
Other churches in all corners of the townships will be used, and a final schedule will be released either at the trustees’ organizational meeting Wednesday or the Monday meeting, Costello said.
“Monday is an off night for most churches, and they’re safe locations that are well-lit with lots of parking,” he said. “We didn’t want to have them in schools because we didn’t want people to confuse the schools and the township.”
The last time township trustees had meetings outside of the administration building on Market Street was in the early 2000s, said Costello, who was on the board from 2000 to 2005.
“It was a neat experience to get out into the neighborhoods, and I’m really hoping for open dialogue,” he said.