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Pittston City Mayor Joseph Keating traveled to Ohio last Sunday along with seven members of the City administration and fire department to look over and give final approval to a $900,000 piece of fire fighting apparatus which is scheduled to arrive in the City Monday or Tuesday. The new truck, a “100-ft. tower” as it is called, will serve not just Pittston but all of the surrounding communities, Keating said.
The vehicle was purchased mostly through a $590,000 Home Security Grant, one of very few in the county, Keating said. The Firemen’s Relief Fund kicked in another $200,000 and the City paid only about $60,000, or ten percent of the grant, Keating said.
This is the latest addition to a fleet of vehicles Pittston has acquired with a cost to taxpayers of only $62,000 total, Keating explained. About a month after the 100-ft. tower arrives, the City expects to take delivery on a $350,000 rescue pumper, purchased entirely by the firemen’s Relief Fund. The City recently acquired a $38,000, 4-wheel-drive dump truck with plow thanks to a grant secured by former State Rep. Thomas Tigue.
Tigue also secured funds for a $30,000 SUV for the police department and his successor State Rep. Michael Carroll secured a grant for a new police cruiser valued at $26,000.
Two weeks ago, the City purchased two 4-wheel-drive, GMC pickup trucks with plows. The City fronted $52,000 for the purchase, Keating said, but will get $50,000 back in June when another grant secured by Carroll comes in.
All this, Keating explained, is on the heels of a $100,000 grant which the City used to purchase a new recycling truck. The City’s share was approximately $10,000.
The new vehicles put the City in great shape for years to come, Keating said, but that is not what he is most proud of as his administration begins its third year. What he is most proud of is tackling the City’s $2.5-million debt.
“By 2009,” Keating said, “we will have reduced that debt by at least $660,000, all the while continuing to provide service to the City’s residents.” Keating said he is negotiating refinancing the City’s debt at a lower interest rate and if he is successful the debt reduction a year from now will be even greater.
All of this has not been easy. “I’ve turned it into almost a full-time job,” Keating said. “I’m in the office every day, and often it’s for 7 to 8 hours.”
Keating said the 2006 budget he inherited had 5.75 mills marked for debt service, but he soon discovered that would cover not even half of the debt payments. He amended the budget to include 6.35 mills for debt service, added another two mills to that in 2007 and has put on an additional three mills for 2008. A mill brings in about $31,000 in tax revenue and with 10.75 mills now marked for debt service, the City can pay $333,059 on its debt. “That way, we’re not always robbing the general fund,” Keating said.
“We bit the bullet and it shows,” Keating said. “We didn’t do what was popular, we did what was right.”
Keating said the City added 2 mills of taxes this year for three reasons: the one-time cost for the new fire apparatus; a $50,000 loss in the way the Local Services Tax is reimbursed; and an emergency sewer project on Washington Terace.
“I have made a promise that I will give back that 2 mills in next year’s budget,” he said. “Of course, I’d love to keep it. It would certainly allow us to provide more service. If there are no complaints from taxpayers, perhaps we can keep it in (the budget).”
Keating said his administration has also made a concerted effort to cut costs. The traffic control officer, with a salary and benefit package of about $33,000, was eliminated.
A full-time secretary (about $42,000) was replaced with a part-time person. The full-time city clerk was replaced with a part-time person requiring no benefits. Three police officers retired and were not replaced, although one may be, Keating said.
Even the City Hall’s cleaning service was let go at a savings of about $20,000 a year. The Street Department now cleans City Hall, Keating said.
“We watch our nickels and dimes,” he said, “and we have been very fortunate to have Sen. Ray Musto, Rep. Mike Carroll and former Rep. Tom Tigue in our corner. I cannot say enough about their support.”
Projects on the Pittston Little League stadium and on the Pittston Tomato Festival lot will begin in spring, he said. Both are grant-funded.
Keating said the City also looks out for every opportunity to put the taxpayers’ money to work. “All of our monies are in interest-bearing accounts,” he said.
Keating said it’s too early to say if he will run for a second term in 2010.