Upper Macungie Officials Begin Budget Talks

and department heads got together Monday afternoon and began the formal process of hashing out the 2013 township budget.

The mid-afternoon session was light on details as department heads still must meet with the treasurer, but there was one topic of debate that was at the forefront -- just how much is the new Upper Macungie Police Department going to cost?

That question is still up in the air, since the breakup of the is still ongoing. Part of the problem, according to township supervisor Sam Ashmar, is how much of the early retirement and pension system Upper Macungie will be on the hook for.

That will be up to solicitors and the Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Commission to figure out, but the price tag could be north of $500,000, a number that would bust any township's budget.

The supervisors did pass a motion to fill an open public works position with a mechanic's position -- someone who would be able to service the police vehicles on a more regular basis than a dealership can.

Still, there were some resolutions that were bandied about at the meeting.

"We should not be funding developers," Ashmar said. "They shouldn't be coming in front of us unless they are fully funded. We're not an interest-free credit line," he said.

"And we have to do a better job with the vendors," he added. "We have to do a better job on what we have coming in getting paid, because that's where we're getting hammered."

The next session will be Aug. 29 at 4 p.m.