On Nov. 16, the Redevelopment Authority and City Council had a joint meeting to discuss the authority's request to tap the trust fund to pay off a $7 million loan.

"It's something we really wish we did not need to do but I think the numbers speak for themselves," said RDA chairman Joseph DiSciullo.

If the city and RDA continued its agreement with the bank, it would be paying about $35,000 monthly or $420,000 annually in interest on the loan, city officials said.

In exchange for council's approval of the request, the RDA plans to replenish the trust fund within five years. The RDA plans to give 95 percent of any future property sale to the trust fund.

This may be the right move for the city but as one resident said, "I think the RDA's borrowing of a loan from the trust fund should have been done a long time ago."

Do you think officials should have acted sooner or waited until January to let the new council members decide?

At the Nov. 9 meeting, council approved the second reading and adoption of an ordinance for $1.5 million withdrawal from the trust fund. The money will be used to balance the city's budget.

Council also decided it will have a joint public meeting at 7 p.m. Nov. 16 with the city's Redevelopment Authority. The authority is requesting council withdrawal $7 million to pay for the authority's debt.

State officials and a report, known as Fairmont Capital Advisors Early Intervention Program, have warned the city against overreliance on the trust fund. The report states that a minimum of $20 million should be in the fund at all times.

At the end of October, the fund had $21.9 million. The $1.5 million withdrawal and a potential $7 million could bring the fund down to approximately $13.4 million.

Do you think it's prudent for council to continue taking money from the fund?

At the Coatesville Area School Board meeting on Tuesday, Bishop Shanahan parents urged officials to provide more buses for their kids.

The buses are shared between Shanahan and Collegium Charter School students. Collegium starts school at about 7:20 a.m. and Shanahan doesn't have to start until about 8:05 a.m. As a result, some Shanahan kids have to catch the buses as early as 6 a.m. in order to accomodate the Collegium schedule.

In a 5-4 vote, the school board approved a contract for one extra bus. But parents said this may not be enough to fix the problem.

Do you think the school board should consider approving contracts for more buses?

Although City Council voted against layoffs on Monday night, some officials said Tuesday that this issue may be revisited in the near future.


Do you think it's a good idea for the city to layoff some employees in order to balance the budget?

City Manager Harry Walker sent out layoff notices earlier this month to 13 employees but City Council unanimously voted against this action on Monday night.

There was also a presentation on cash flow in which Finance Director Stacy Bjorhus said the city will be about $900,000 short at the end of the year.

Lastly, the request to withdrawal money from the trust fund was on the agenda again. Before a vote was taken on the first reading of the ordinance, Councilman Ed Simpson raised several questions about bills paid to consultants. One in particular was a bill paid for a consultant's work visa.

"You used taxpayers' money to pay for a work visa without any prior approval," Simpson said to Walker.

On Tuesday night, community members attended the launch of the Coatesville Youth Development Initiative at the Brandywine Center.

After a yearlong planning process, the steering committee presented its findings and priorities. In a nutshell, this initiative is geared toward providing opportunities for the city's kids to reach their goals and dreams.

Do you think this initiative is a step in the right direction?

There was an action item on the Oct. 12 City Council agenda regarding the authorization to remove money from the city's trust fund again. But only four of the seven council members at the meeting, so Councilman Ed Simpson asked that the item be postponed.

City Manager Harry Walker explained that the money from the trust fund would sustain the city through early next year. He said revenues will significantly increase in February.

Councilwoman Patsy Ray said that the budget has been an issue since she has been on council.

"We came into this year with no money in the hole," said Ray. "And we will go out this year with no money in the hole."

At the finance work session, City Council members expressed frustration with the city manager. They wanted more details on the trust fund and potential salary cuts and/or staff reductions.

Members of council revisited this topic again late this week. They said they hope to get more answers soon.

Meanwhile, Harry Walker said he was satisfied with the way the finance meeting turned out. He said he will be presenting more clarity on financial issues at Monday's City Council meeting.

At the Oct. 5 finance work session, City Council President Martin Eggleston urged administrators to look into salary reductions in every department.

“The city can make cuts in any department regardless if it’s union or not – just not the fire department,” City Manager Harry Walker responded.

Walker said he plans to recommend about $350,000 in expenditure cuts. He said he was looking into cuts in the recreation and codes departments. More details about potential staff reductions are expected at next week's City Council meeting.

Do you think the city should consider salary and staff reductions to help balance the budget?

City officials announced last week that there will be a special finance meeting on Monday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. This meeting, which is open to the public, will be held in City Hall.

Officials said that the purpose of the meeting to discuss the upcoming 2010 budget amd examine the current cash flow.

In addition, City Manager Harry Walker plans to recommend to City Council that $1.5 million be withdrawn from the reserve trust fund and put into the general fund. As residents of the City of Coatesville, do you think this recommendation is a good idea?

Read about it here.

Read the city's application here: CoatesvilleWSApplication.pdf

City of Coatesville
Weed & Seed Coordinator
Allen Smith
610-384-0300 ext. 3123

City Manager Harry Walker said at last night's City Council meeting that Donald McKensie, city consultant turned acting finance director somewhere along the line, is no longer with the city. Walker offered no detailed explanation for the exit, except to say McKensie had "completed his task."

The only task McKensie completed that stands out is convince city officials to change accounting software systems (making it the third system for the city in as many years). The city's administration went ahead and made the switch from Caselle software to 4Gov even though City Council never formally approved the switch.

The cost to taxpayers?

Well, the city paid $109,395 over two years to purchase Caselle, which the city now owns. But because McKensie said Caselle was not as user-friendly as 4Gov he had the finance department start using 4Gov, which the city gets to use for free for one year. After that, the city will be charged $150 per month per user, which the city said would equate to less than $1,000 per month.

A couple years ago, then Finance Director Rickie Dean, hired by City Manager Harry Walker, picked out Caselle because he felt the system used by the previous administration wasn't good enough. Then the city fired Dean and hired McKensie who said the system Dean picked wasn't good enough, so he picked out another system. And now McKensie is gone and the city is searching for a new finance director.

So a taxpayer is likely wondering, how much will the next finance director cost them?