The public missed an opportunity to learn some budget basics and get an indepth look at Northgate’s proposed 2012-13 budget at a special meeting last Monday.

Business manager Christopher Ursu presented an overview of the proposed spending plan to the handful of people in attendance, which included three school board members and superintendent Dr. Reggie Bonfield.

Bellevue officials are still debating which company to hire for tax and fee collection, possibly including garbage fees in 2012.

Council's finance committee has recommended hiring Jordan, which currently i used by the solicitor's office to collect delinquent real estate taxes. The company's performance in that task has been "above and beyond our wildest expectations," according to director of administrative services Doug Sample. Sample said the borough budgeted about $90,000 in revenue from delinquent property taxes, and has received about $170,000 so far and is expecting $100,000 more.

Bellevue Council will have to decide between PAMS and Jordan Tax Services for collection of borough fees and delinquent taxes, but first may have to decide exactly what fees the companies may collect.

Although the collection fees charged by PAMS are lower, according to council members, the finance committee recommended hiring Jordan to collect sewage, per capita and possibly garbage fees.

Council members Jane Braunlich and Linda Woshner both objected to hiring Jordan because of the higher collection and delinquency fees that would be charged to borough taxpayers.

Aidan Sommers of Ben Avon, age 10, will enter fifth grade at Avonworth Elementary School this year. He's on the Avonworth and Baierl YMCA swim teams, plays soccer, and enjoys activities typical of friends his age.

An ordinary kid in every way, except one.

He and his dad, Bob, have just put the finishing touches on an iPhone game app that, if all goes well, would finance his college education through a post-doctoral degree.

A pause here for anyone who has not succumbed to tech terms.

App…an application.

Bellevue Council voted Tuesday to put the borough in the position to refinance its outstanding bonds if market conditions make the move sufficiently profitable for the borough.

Representatives of the broker, as well as bond counsel, told officials that the ordinance will authorize them to act if the borough can achieve a savings of at least 2 percent of the $6 million principal, or of at least $100,000 if only part of the bond is refinanced.

Avalon will purchase a floor scrubber for the fire hall, as promised, despite some officials' pleas to wait until the borough's revenue picks up.

Fire company members said the old scrubber is shot, and their inability to clean the oil and other materials from the garage floors is creating a safety hazard for firefighters.

While the Northgate School Board seeks permission to increase property taxes 2.5 mills in the coming year, a challenge to cut spending was endorsed more heartily in theory than in practice at the board’s work session on Monday.

Editor:

It was great to see so many Avalon residents at this week's borough council meeting. I don't think that I've ever seen the room as full as it was. It would be so nice to see some of those faces next month. I would also like to say that our council members and borough employees that were present should be commended for how well they handled themselves. I don't know when the last time was that you had to sit and listen to a roomful of people tell you about all the things you do wrong, but I can tell you I don't think I could have done it with the grace that they did.

Earned income taxes for Avalon Borough and the Northgate School District will be collected next year by a new company, as both local government agencies have opted to hire the regional tax collector a year early.

State law -- Act 32 -- requires that EIT collection be consolidated throughout the state, in most cases on a county-by-county basis. Because of its size and population, Allegheny County has been divided into four tax collection districts, with local municipalities and school districts located in the Allegheny North Tax Collection District (ANTCD).

The Northgate School Board's finance committee is recommending that the board reject a lower price for worker's compensation insurance.

Business manager Marilynn Berner said that the district has used the same insurance carrier for 20 years, and has an excellent working relationship with the company. A new company, she said, submitted a proposal that is $3,600 less than what the current insurer charges.

Bellevue Council's finance committee is expected to hire an interim director of administrative services (DAS) in the near future, having received permission to do so from all of council at the regular meeting Tuesday.

The borough has been without a manager since Connie Flasher's resignation in March. Officials have explored several interim options, including hiring graduate students, retired municipal managers or a private company, or possibly a combination of those options.

Bellevue may hire a graduate student to serve as interim director of administrative services.

Members of Bellevue Council held a special meeting Tuesday to discuss four options presented by finance committee chairman Mark Panichella, and seemed to reach a compromise on how to manage the borough's government until a permanent DAS can be hired to replace Connie Flasher, who resigned last month.