The Lower Towamensing Township supervisors approved the real estate budget last week, holding the line on taxes. Supervisors’ Chairman Brent Green said the township’s total expenditures for 2022 are expected to be $821,251.82. Prior to the vote on budget, Terry Kuehner, who won the recent election and will begin his term in January on the board of supervisors, wanted the supervisors to hold off on voting on it.

“I would like to advise the board, it would not be in your best interest to pass any budget tonight,” Kuehner challenged the board, saying the township is under an audit.

“And until the audit is complete it would be premature to pass a budget due to that fact,” he said.

Under Article 32, Taxation and Finance in section 3202b of the state’s code governing Second Class Townships, municipalities are required to adopt the final budget no later than Dec. 31. The new fiscal year begins on Jan. 1. The supervisors may amend the budget, if needed, in January.

Audits are held annually and are also required after a secretary-treasurer leaves the position. Section 904 of Article 9 titled Auditors; Accountants states that an annual audit must be completed, settled and adjusted before April 1 of each year. The township’s auditor is currently working on an audit of this year’s numbers, which can’t be fully complete until after the year has ended.

Kuehner also asked why the township has not hired a replacement for the secretary-treasurer position.

The township did ask the former Secretary-Treasurer Christine Wentz to come back earlier this month on a temporary, part-time basis. She accepted and came in a few evenings a week after working at her new job.

Wentz had put in her two-week notice in mid-September.

Green said that she completed the payment of all outstanding invoices, and all garbage fund checks have been deposited and marked paid.

The township also approved in early December to have Mauch Chunk Trust Co., a bank based in Jim Thorpe, handle the payroll for the township for about six months, while a replacement for Wentz is found and trained.

Wentz decided on Tuesday that she was not going to work the part-time position any longer.

Kuehner said, “OK, that’s interesting because the most important, see I need to know exactly what she accomplished since she’s been back, and what was presented within the computers of the memory of the database of the corrections or whatever the facility has.”

Kuehner continued on about Wentz and her resignation, her rehiring, the budget, and the responsibilities of the supervisors, all of which he has brought up at previous meetings.

Green said they were going to continue on to other agenda items, since these are topics that they have discussed with Kuehner at prior meetings.

Kuehner said they did not hire anyone. Supervisor Jay Mullikin replied, “We did hire someone to take care of it.”

They rehired Wentz.

The discourse eventually ended with Kuehner saying, “There’s going to be an investigation here. And we’re going to ask that the township file petition to the township and to the county and to the state attorney general’s office for the state to take over this township.”

The combined revenue of all of the various tax funds is expected to be $1.4 million.

The township’s taxes include:

• General Mill Tax: 1.6 mills

• Fire Tax: 0.75 mils

• Light Tax: 45 cents per front foot (Applies only to properties located within 250 feet of streetlights.)

• Water Tax: 0.4 mills (Applies only to properties located within 780 feet of a fire hydrant.)

• Real Estate Transfer Tax: 1% of the selling price

• Earned Income Tax: 1%

• Local Services Tax: $52

• Per Capita Tax: $5