The following is a summary of the remarks delivered at the BACF Luncheon. These comments were delivered by several Forks Township Supervisors.
On behalf of the Supervisors and Staff of Forks, I am proud to announce that the State of our Township is vibrant and robust.
Some fun factoids about our township
According to the American Community Survey we have a population of 13,841 up from 8,419 in 2000. Families made up 73 percent of the households in Forks Township.
- Nine percent of the people living in Forks Township in 2005-2009 were foreign born. Ninety-one percent was native, including 37 percent who were born in Pennsylvania.
- 94 percent of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 39 percent had a bachelor's degree or higher. Six percent were dropouts; they were not enrolled in school and had not graduated from high school.
- Eighty-one percent of Forks township workers drove to work alone in 2005-2009, 10 percent carpooled, 1 percent took public transportation, and 2 percent used other means. The remaining 6 percent worked at home. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 39.3 minutes to get to work.
- The median income of households in Forks township was $86,875
- The median age is 39.4 years. Twenty-eight percent of the population was under 18 years and 12 percent was 65 years and older.
- Forks Township had a total of 5,400 housing units, 2 percent of which were vacant. Of the total housing units, 93 percent was in single-unit structures, 5 percent was in multi-unit structures, and 2 percent was mobile homes. Fifty-nine percent of the housing units were built since 1990.
- The median monthly housing costs for mortgaged owners was $2,075, non-mortgage owners $576, and renters $1,000.
Financial Condition
We have raised taxes only twice in the last 16 years. Our current tax rate is 5.6 mils. This tax represents 8% of the total tax burden of a Forks resident. 18% of the total taxes go to Northampton County whereas 74% go to the Easton School District.
In this challenging economy we can take great pride in our financial management of the township. We have operating expenses of $7.93M with revenue of $7.93M. We are expecting a surplus of $971,765 for 2011.
Staffing note: 54 Full Time plus 18 part-time. 24 Police (23 sworn officers), 14 Admin. 14 Public Works 10 Road and 4 Parks, 2 Recreation.
Where is this money spent? Public Safety is approximately at 40% with Administration and Facilities at 27%. The least burden on the taxpayer is the Legislative budget at .9%.
Aside from taxes, where do we look for future revenue to support services to a growing population as residential development matures? The future economic engine for the township must be commercial development. Last year, 7 commercial developments valued at 13 million generated $202,800.00 in permit fees. These operations will generate on going additional EIT taxes and add to the real estate tax base. BCAF’s economic development committee chaired by Sharon Davis is exploring initiatives to showcase Forks as a great place to do business.
Public Debt
Current Debt is at 10.8 million. In 2009 our debt consisted of several loans for the municipal complex buildings, Community Center, fire trucks and public works equipment. In 2010, we decided to consolidate and refinance all debt including funds to finance the new public works garage. We secured a new consolidated loan for 11.3 million at the bottom of the curve in municipal rates last year, saving the township $766,000 in future interest over our former loans. We expect to retire the loan over 16 years in 2027. (Loan rate yield ranges from .40% o 3.8%)
Capital Projects
We are working on several major capital projects in 2011:
· Completion of the new Public Works Building
· Completion of the Sullivan Trial and Meco Road stop light
· Final decision on the amphitheater
Parks and Recreation
We are excited about latest additional to the township leadership team. We have hired our first Parks and Recreation Director – Rachel Sulzbach as Director of Parks and Recreation. Additionally, we are pleased to announce the hiring of Matthew Carfahno as our new Community Center Manager. We anticipate 2011 recreation revenue of $326,00.00.
In 2011, we are working on new Parks and Recreation projects.
- Parks and Recreation 5 year plan
- Development of a Master Park Plan for the 43 acre track off Richmond Road
- We are please we have a thriving youth sports programs that serves over 1700 male and female athletes in 9 sports.
Commercial Development
We are several major development projects well underway in our township
- Weiss Market
- Expansion of Famous Smoke Shop retail business and the addition of a new restaurant
- We are awaiting groundbreaking of Henningson Cold Storage, which will be great addition to Fort James Industrial Park as was Weyerhauser last year.
Residential Development
Housing permits have slowed over the last few years as the recession hurt homes throughout the Lehigh Valley. In 2010, we had 17 approved developments under partial construction containing 1261 residential units yet to be constructed. During that same year, we issued 75 housing permits and we still have 1261 housing units to be built as the economy recovers in 2011 and beyond. Right now, only 59% of the housing developments are completed.
Public Safety
Forks Township Volunteer Fire Department responded to 388 calls with 304 incident hours throughout the township and in Stockertown. Of the 388, 32% of the calls we related to vehicle accidents, 17% for activated alarms, with 8% of the calls we for structure fires. In total, the Forks Fire Department had 8,211 total volunteer hours. Firemen now have excellent training opportunities at our newly completed fire tower on Glover Road.
Forks Township Police Department with 23 full time officers responded to 7369 calls. Our police department has an extensive community outreach program, such as the youth police academy, child safety seat inspection, and the very popular bicycle safety program.
Public Works
14 staff members: 10 assigned to roads and 4 to parks.
A special thanks to the Forks Township Public Works crews for their excellent snow removal and ice mediation this winter season, which was one of worst in years. This past fall our new leaf vacuum went in to service. We are now in a much better position to manage this organic waste for recycling.
This staff is responsible for 59 miles of roadway and 11 miles of recreation paths along with all the parkland.
