In a short meeting last night, Tyrone Borough Council came to a consensus that it is in favor of establishing Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance zones in Tyrone Borough and will hold a public hearing concerning the matter.
“You know I am in favor of this,” said Mayor Pat Stoner. “We need to give businesses incentives to locate here.”
LERTA is not the complete tax shelter like the Keystone Opportunity Zone or Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone. LERTA provides tax breaks on expansions or new construction.
“Let’s say that Gardners Candies is going to expand,” Mayor Stoner said to council in a hypothetical situation. “The expansion would be covered through LERTA, but the current facility would not change. The first year, the expansion or new construction would be tax free, the second year is 80 percent, the third is 60 percent and so on.”
Council unanimously voted to hold a hearing to establish LERTA Zones in Tyrone. Solicitor Larry Clapper said following the meeting that the council hopes to have a hearing scheduled so action on the LERTA Zone can be taken during next month’s council meeting.
The body unanimously approved Ordinance 1200 which amends police procedures.
“Since the council has voted to adopt civil service rules to govern the hiring of police officers, there needs to be a change in the police procedures,” said Clapper. “The current procedure states that an officer must be at least 18 years of age and ACT 120 certification is suggested. Under Civil Service policies, personnel must be 21 and ACT 120 certification is mandatory. This change will put the procedures to Civil Service standards.”
The council voted unanimously to adopt the measure.
In the public comment portion of the meeting, resident Bill Fink, asked the council about the Borough Manager hiring progress.
“We have one interview completed,” said Mayor Stoner. “I was impressed with his credentials and the interview. We still have three candidates left to interview. Two interviews are scheduled for September 16 and the last interview is Sept. 17.”
Council also passed the following measures:
• voted 6-0 to approve Resolution 2003-12 to accept the second phase of Streetscape;
• voted 6-0 to award the 1994 Plymouth Acclaim (old code enforcement car) to Kerry Brooks who bid $900 and the 1990 Ford Cargo Van to Cornerstone Builders for $1,853;
• voted 6-0 to designate the annual Trick-or-Treat night. The night is scheduled for October 30 between the times of 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Council will next meet on October 6 at 7 p.m. in the Tyrone Municipal Building.
