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Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
60 Cents
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Volume 150, No. 18
Budget details examined by U-CF board and administration By John Chambless Staff Writer The administration and school board of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District drilled down into the details of the proposed final budget at their meeting on May 2, moving towards final adop-
tion of the budget in June. Before a dissection of aspects of the budget, district superintendent John Sanville told the board, “The budget that is before you has a focus on the children of Unionville-Chadds Ford. It focuses on professional development for staff, staffing adjustments
Estimate puts price tag between $6.5–$7.5 million
Design reveals plans for proposed police barracks By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer To those who are assigned with the enormous task of keeping New Garden Township safe, the April 25 presentation that unveiled the township’s planned 19,500-square-foot police barracks served as a blueprint for the future. To those elected officials who may eventually be charged with the enormous task of raising the money to pay for it, not
so much. With New Garden Police Chief Gerald Simpson at his side, Detroit-based architect Daniel Redstone presented a space needs assessment on April 25 for the township’s proposed police barracks which, if it ever gets the green light, will be constructed on the site of its current location on GapNewport Pike. Referring to a diagram on an overhead screen, Continued on Page 2A
that reduce class sizes and provide additional services, and expanded money for technology improvements at the middle school and high school with the expansion of the Learning Management System. It does those things while recognizing the commitment of our community, through
tax dollars, to provide for our children. I think it’s a budget that’s fair and reasonable, but also one that takes new initiatives and brings extra dollars and resources right to our children. “We are budgeting total revenues of $82,406,523, and total expenditures of
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
The Kennett Square Beautification Committee’s “Art in the Garden” in the Genesis Walkway was just one of four separate events held in Kennett Square on April 30. For more photos, see Page 1B.
By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer Officials from Kennett Square Borough and Moroleón, Mexico may have formalized their relationship with the signing of a sister cities agreement on April 29, but in actuality the bond between this town Photo by Steven Hoffman in Pennsylvania and the city Matthew Fetick, the mayor of Kennett Square Borough, and Jorge Ortiz Ortega, the municipal president of in Mexico stretches back Moroleón, sign the Act of Twinning Agreement, mak- decades. Jorge Ortiz Ortega, the ing the relationship between the two towns official.
municipal president of Moroleón, explained that in the years after World War II, more than five million people from Mexico journeyed to the United States in search of work that would help provide them with a better life. Some of those people left Moroleón and they found their way to Kennett Square, gaining employment in the mushroom industry. Continued on Page 5A
Township’s assets nearing $24 million A 12-month financial report for 2015, presented by Kennett Township Manager Lisa Moore on April 20, showed that the township’s total assets stood at $23,841,668 at the start of this year. A simple breakdown
of the township’s assets showed that its current assets stood at $10.6 million, which included $6.1 million in its general fund, and close to $4 million in its open space fund. On the fixed assets side, the value of the township’s property, plant and equipment stood at $12.7 million at the beginning of the year.
Continued on Page 3A
Growing gardens
Kennett Square Borough and Moroleón, Mexico: A connection forged over decades
By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
$82,597,582,” Sanville said. “Which means an operating deficit of $191,059. The bottom line is a tax increase in Chester County of 2.82 mills, and in Delaware County, a 3.15 mills increase. The weighted average between the two counties is a 2.88 percent
The township’s 2015 revenue was $3.85 million, seven percent lower than the previous year, while its expenses were just short of $4 million, just one percent less than 2014. A look at the township’s general fund revealed that taxes in the township totaled $3 million in 2015, which accounted for 78 percent
of total revenue. On the township’s liabilities and equity side, there were six primary categories that accounted for 90 percent of all township expenses in 2015. Wages and benefits cost $1.2 million; general government cost $626,511; police expenses cost $304,426; Continued on Page 2A
Super announces budget in U-CF By Uncle Irvin According to a story in the April 13 Chester County Press, the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District is planning to raise millage 2.88 percent to fund the proposed budget for the 2016-2017 school year. The budget work was presented by Director of Business Operations Bob Cochran. Superintendent John Sanville proclaimed that millage would increase 2.88 percent to fund this budget. Sanville and his administration team reviewed the highlights. They did not entertain any input from Continued on Page 3A © 2007 The Chester County Press