Municipal News
- Last Updated on Tuesday, 29 November 2016 21:48
By Miranda Startare
Carroll Township Board of Supervisors held its November 1 regular monthly meeting and discussed the implications of the September Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that the Local Share Account (LSA) provision of the gaming law is unconstitutional.
The court’s decision has put communities across the state into a panic of losing millions of dollars of funds that have become part of their budgets, with each township receiving $25,000 plus $10 per resident annually.
Carroll Township and Ringgold School District are appealing the decision, which would force the township to raise taxes, according to Solicitor Herman Bigi, who said the state has been swamped with appeals.
“There are so many appeals, they can’t handle them,” Bigi said.
The State Senate has approved a bill that temporarily requires the casinos to pay the hosting communities, but legislators must find a solution to the funding inequality within 120 days.
Carroll Township would lose funding in the amount of $30,000 annually if a resolution is not made.
In other business:
• Carroll Township received the final payment of $5,190.12 of a $153,000 Act 101, 902 Recycling Grant. Part of the grant was used to purchase a leaf vacuum for the township.
• Police Chief Paul Brand announced two reported black bear sightings in the township, one on State Route 88 in New Eagle near the old mine, and another sighting near the Monongahela exit of PA 43. The Game Commission asks residents to not approach a bear and to call the Game Commission’s Latrobe office if a bear is sighted.