Supervisors address Barnard House funding worries

Pocopson officials say building renovation won’t boost taxes By Kelli Siehl, Staff Writer, The Times Pocopson officials say that a planned renovation of the Barnard House into a new township building and home of the Kennett Underground Railway Museum will not lead to an increase in local taxes. POCOPSON — During Monday night’s township Board of Supervisors’ meeting, residents expressed...

Will new homeowner tax effect you when you sell your home?

By Jill Goldman, Special to The Times The “homeowner’s tax” that Congress created to help pay for the Obama Healthcare Law is theoretically a scary proposition, since it applies to the proceeds of real estate sales including primary residences.  In actuality, however, few homeowners will be affected since only a relatively few sales will generate enough proceeds to high enough wage earners to...

The damage of narrow self-interest

These days, it’s everyone for themselves and we all suffer By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times We’re all in this together, right? I’ll pause while you stop laughing. The 1970s were supposed to be the “Me Decade,” but it seems that what really happened was the emergence of the “Me Generation.” As that generation took power in the halls of government and corporate governance,...

School board approves final budget

$71.1M spending plan gets 8-1 approval vote; no final decision on use fees By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com EAST MARLBOROUGH — Capping the end of one of the quietest school budget cycles in recent history, the Unionville-Chadds Ford Board of Education approved the district’s 2012-13 budget Monday night. The $71,128,330 spending plan passed by an 8-1 margin; the lone no vote came from...

County poised to assess towns for emergency services

Local officials object to timing, costs of the $5.20 per-person fee By Mike McGann, Editor, The UnionvilleTimes.com Chester County appears poised to impose a per-capita tax on the county’s 73 municipalities — $5.20 per person — for emergency services starting with the 2013 fiscal year, but municipal officials are blasting the move as little more than an excuse to shift a tax hike. The Chester...

School district to evaluate programs for potential future cuts

With projected budget gaps looming starting in ’13-’14, administration looks for savings options if needed By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com EAST MARLBOROUGH — While the process to develop the 2012-13 school year budget for the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District has been among the quieter and least controversial in years, district officials say they worry that the following...

Residents voice nearly unanimous plea not to privatize Pocopson Home

More than 200 attend county commissioners’ 2nd information session By Kathleen Brady Shea, Special to UnionvilleTimes.com About 230 local residents turned out for a meeting Monday night about the future of the Pocopson Home, with most supporting continued Chester County operation of the 275-bed facility. DOWNINGTOWN — The venue was larger and the crowd a bit smaller, but the message to the...

School board set to adopt 1.83% tax increase

District drops blended tax increase from 2.85%, likely to give preliminary approval Monday, final in June By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com EAST MARLBOROUGH — Unlike some governmental bodies, it appears that the Unionville-Chadds Ford Board of Education is ahead of schedule in its annual budget process and appears likely to give preliminary approval to the final budget and tax rate at next...

Big questions confront area in elections, schools

In election 2012, what will voters care more about: ideology or competency? By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com So many things to write about this week in Unionville from what should be an interesting primary race in a local state Senate race as well as what is shaping up to be another “interesting” conversation about the relationship between taxes and education. Before we wade into the...

Free tax preparation help

It’s tax season again — but you don’t have to spend valuable time figuring out how to prepare them on your own. The AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program is here to help by offering free, confidential services to assist in  preparing your Federal, State and Local tax returns. All tax preparers are volunteers who received extensive training and have successfully passed an IRS certification test. ...