By SARIT LASCHINSKY

Special to The Press

North Whitehall supervisors held a brief virtual meeting Dec. 7 to discuss municipal business, including final adoption of the 2021 budget and establishment of the 2021 tax rate.

Township Manager Chris Garges said the balanced, approximately $4.8 million preliminary budget had been advertised since discussion at the November board meeting.

Township Secretary Brenda Norder presented a tax resolution which established the 2021 tax rates, noting the rates do not reflect any increases for the next year.

Real estate tax will be 0.6 mil of assessed valuation, while streetlight assessments will be a flat rate of $45 for residential properties and $1,826 for institutional properties.

Real estate transfer tax and earned income tax will both be assessed at one-half of 1 percent.

Local services tax will be $52. Of that amount, the township will receive $47, and the Parkland School District will get $5.

The board approved both the budget adoption and the tax resolution.

Additionally, during the manager’s report, Garges reported the township was notified by the office of state Sen. Pat Browne, R-16th, that North Whitehall was awarded an approximately $61,000 grant for security upgrades to the municipal campus.

He said most of the upgrades had been completed in 2020 with a few items on the list for 2021.

Garges also provided the board with an update on a brake retarder study for Mauch Chunk Road and Willow Street, which had been discussed at a previous board meeting.

He said the township had reached out to New Enterprise Stone and Lime - the company whose trucks were causing resident complaints - and provided the township engineer’s quote for $2,500 to afford the necessary study.

However, Garges said New Enterprise’s response was the company could not fund the study and asked whether the board wanted to move forward with the study, which was necessary to determine PennDOT approval for brake retarder restrictions.

Supervisor Mark Hills said he disliked spending the money.

“[But] it will put this to bed once and for all, either we get to put the signs up or we don’t,” Hills said. “I’ve been listening to this for five years.”

After a brief discussion with engineer Steve Gitch, the board approved the traffic study for a time when township engineers determine they can get the most accurate readings on truck traffic.

Norder also announced township offices will be closed Dec. 24 and 25 for the Christmas holidays, as well as Jan. 1, 2021, for the New Year’s Day holiday.

Additionally, she reported the supervisor’s organization meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Jan. 4, 2021, and the auditor’s organization meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Jan. 5, 2021.

For new business, supervisors approved updates to the employee handbook which Garges said will be distributed to all township workers.

He added the new handbook does not supersede the employee’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

New job descriptions - encompassing all in-house employees, the three public works crew leaders and a new administrative assistant/special projects position - were also approved by the board.

Supervisors also approved the 2021 salary rate for the public works department, which Norder said would be at the contracted increase for nonunion salaries, as well as a three-year union contract which had been ratified the week before by the body covered under the CBA.

Furthermore, the board approved the reimbursement of $203,979.79 in fees paid by the developer of the North Valley Trade Center for work done on the Ironton Rail Trail and associated connector path from the trail to the township office complex.

Supervisors also approved the appointment of the accounting firm France Anderson Basile and Company to conduct the township’s fiscal year 2020 audit.