Dec 17, 2016 2 min read

This letter is in response to the article that appeared in the Observer-Reporter on Dec. 7 and the editorial that appeared the following day concerning the way impact fee money is being spent by county and local municipalities.

The guidelines set by the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission are vague and can be interpreted in many different ways, but why do some people think Auditor General Eugene DePasquale can interpret these guidelines any better than our elected local officials?

One of the categories listed by the PUC is the delivery of social services. When I looked up the definition of “social services,” the answer was, “Government services provided for the benefit of the community.” In my opinion, both cases that were mentioned in the article and the editorial – North Strabane Township’s $32,602 spent on community recreation events, and Greene County’s $1.2 million spent rebuilding community swimming pools – fall under this category.

Furthermore, why should Harrisburg dictate how this impact-fee money is spent? Local municipalities and counties are the ones who have to deal with the headaches associated with deep-well drilling.

So, have a little faith and trust in local officials who have been elected to spend the impact fee money as they see fit.

Russell A. Mowl

North Bethlehem

Mowl is the secretary-treasurer for North Bethlehem Township.