After nearly giving up on the installation of a traffic signal officials said was urgently needed at Main and 11^th streets in Pennsburg, all the funding for the light has now been secured.

Work at the site, which began last year, can now continue.  To date, some preliminary engineering work has been completed, but John Lear, Upper Perkiomen Valley Regional Planning Commission (UVRPC) vice chairman, said the next step is to secure easements from two residents of Pennsburg and two from Red Hill for the installation.

Each borough is responsible for securing its respective easements.

At the Regional Planning Commission meeting June 24, Lear announced the final financial figures which demonstrated the broad support for the signal.  Pennsburg, Upper Hanover, Red Hill, East Greenville and Green Lane are contributing $52,400, $48,400, $40,000 $2,000 and $4,000, respectively. 

In addition, due to the efforts of Lear, commission chair Shannan Bieler, and Eric Jarrell of the Montgomery County Planning Commission, the Montgomery County Commissioners are contributing $77,539. A community and economic development (DCED) grant is adding another $10,000, the regional planners are adding $5,000 and the Upper Perkiomen School District is adding $3,400.

A total of $242,739 has been raised.  The accepted bid by Lenni Electric is for $213,140.  Engineering fees are $25,000, and legal fees are $1,260. 

This leaves a surplus of slightly over $3,000 in monies raised, some of which may have to be spent on additional engineering and legal fees.

            In other business, Sandra Kassel, Business Administrator of the Upper Perkiomen School District, presented a summary of Act 32, a new tax law enacted in July 2008.

 Kassel, who has been making presentations regarding the new law to numerous municipal and regional organizations throughout Montgomery County, pointed out the far-reaching effects Act 32 will have, not only for Montgomery County, but statewide.

According to Kassel, the purpose of the legislation is to streamline earned income tax collection. Currently, in Pennsylvania, there are over 2,900 taxing jurisdictions with 560 tax collectors, more individual collection entities than in all other states combined.  Act 32 would drastically reduce the number of collection districts to 69.

As the law will not go into effect until January 2012, presentations are being made by Kassel and others to assist municipalities in making the necessary preparations to comply with it.  She pointed out that localities in Montgomery County and in all Pennsylvania counties will need to take steps that will lead to the formation of a collection entity, as is mandated in Act 32, called the Tax Collection Committee (TCC).  The TCC would consist of delegates appointed either by individual municipalities or by regional organizations, such as the UPVRPC.  Delegates could represent one or more localities.

For example, said Kassel, the planning commission could appoint a delegate from each of its member localities, or one delegate to represent all of its member localities. The TCC will have the option of collecting income taxes through county-wide collection agents, whom they would appoint, or through third-party collection agencies.

Kassel suggested that local and regional bodies begin appointing delegates as soon as possible, since the first TCC meeting is planned to be this November.