Snow & Ice:
Tips & Courtesies
When winter weather strikes, please be considerate of your friends and neighbors, and help make it easier for the Public Works crews to do their jobs. During snowy and icy weather, please remember to:
- Remove vehicles from the street (Street parking impedes the Public Works crews, and delays plowing and salting)
- Clear all sidewalks of snow and ice within 24 hours after the snow stops falling -- this applies to both residential and commercial properties
- Help your elderly or handicapped neighbors clear their walks and driveways
Candidly, although I was pleased by how many residents cleared their walks following the recent snow and slush storm, it was disappointing to see how many businesses and homes left their walks untouched, making it difficult for students to walk home from school, for neighbors to walk their dogs, and for mail carriers and others to do their jobs. So please clear your sidewalks as soon as possible. |
Clarification
In my recent print Newsletter, I invited residents to take a survey about "whether residents would prefer to reduce trash pickups to once a week, or eliminate curbside leaf collection as a way of keeping taxes lower." What was not clear was the fact that the Commissioners have not made any decisions to reduce the level of services.
Rather, the survey, available at http://www.4haverford.com/survey_form.htmlis the result of increased costs facing the Township. I fully agree that it would be best if taxes did not increase and services do not decrease. However, this year, Delaware County began for the first time to charge Haverford Township and other municipalities for dumping trash in the County landfill - in the past, the County did not charge for this. As a result, Haverford Township estimates that (while the County says it has not raised taxes) we will incur between $600,000.00 and $700,000.00 in new County-assessed fees. Unlike the County, we have no one to "pass on" these charges to.
Because of these added fees, combined with the state of the economy and other cost increases (such as wages, pension benefits, insurance, etc.), the Township has been forced to increase taxes (albeit nominally) and raise the trash collection fee. It is also likely that the County will soon charge us for bulk trash items as well. Consequently, we are exploring ways to save money, including reducing the trash pickups from twice to once (as is done in Lower Merion and Radnor) or changing from curbside leaf pickup to having residents bag their own leaves. That is why I am conducting this survey.
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