Correction: David Oxley Tax Press Release

NEWTOWN, PA — This is a correction to a previously published article regarding a press release from David Oxley, a current member of the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors and current candidate for Newtown Township Supervisor.

The previous article wrote about Oxley's comments regarding tax initiatives that were discussed last year, not this year. The article incorrectly stated that these were current plans of Oxley's; they are only opinions pertaining to 2020 and no current plan for a change to taxes are being promoted by the candidate.

The article also stated that fellow Democrat Elen Snyder would be involved in those plans. Ms. Snyder does not have anything to do with such plans or opinions on the matter.

Here is the press release in its entirety:

“FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DOES NOT MEAN DO NOTHING”

Newtown, PA / When I was appointed to the Newtown Board of Supervisors, I was very familiar with the perilous path my opponent and the Republican majority had the Township on. According to good government accounting standards our Township was facing bankruptcy. My financial choices are responsible ones. They deal with reality, long-term fiscal health and tough choices. In 2015 Lockheed Martin, a major employer and taxpayer, left Newtown. Their departure created a $700,000 deficit PER YEAR in Township revenue; over 7 years, that’s nearly $5 million in lost tax dollars. Republican-majority Boards ignored the cumulative declines in revenue, refusing to address critical shortages, while allowing core services like road repair to decline, and having no plan!

Newtown Township elected officials must be good stewards not only of financial resources, but also the unique and vibrant community. Governing requires leadership and leadership requires tough decisions that are made for the good of all the people, not of special interests.

Believe me, I don’t want to pay more taxes any more than you do! But, just like your personal budget, sometimes we need to reassess, face the facts and make some tough decisions to balance the income and spending. Newtown Township has been in negative territory for some time now, in fact we were teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. The $3 million reserves were gone after the years of deficit spending. Something had to be done to make us financially viable again. To be clear: taxes were, and will always be, the last and least favorable option. My priority has been, and continues to be, on sustainable revenue enhancements and vigorous cost containment. And without sacrificing the maintenance of our roads, our police and fire protection, or our parks and recreation facilities.

I knew that a long-term financial plan was necessary. I reached out to other Townships across
Pennsylvania to get ideas and recommendations on consulting resources to guide the Board in our budget process. I brought in a municipal consulting firm with whom the Board of Supervisors developed a 5-year budget plan which we are implementing now. I have a strong financial background and my expertise was a driving force in getting us to address and plan for tomorrow. We now have an approved 5-year plan that is our fiscally-responsible roadmap for the future. Newtown township is now on a more solid footing and there is reason to be optimistic for the future.

It was a modest tax increase, even though Republicans will use numbers to make this sound like a huge hike. The fact is that Newtown Township residents pay less than $370/year in municipal taxes, among the lowest tax rates among townships in Bucks County. The additional revenue from the increase will be used to hire new police officers, replace the Township Assistant Manager (a position which has been vacant for 3 years under Republicans), purchase a new dump truck and other capital projects. This tax increase was necessary to begin to restore our reserves and manage our Township in a fiscally responsible way.

We need to invest in our community to maintain the quality of life that makes Newtown the special place it is. This means having a long-range plan that puts our money where our priorities are, namely into good roads, maintaining our open spaces and parks, attracting new businesses to increase our tax base, maintaining well-equipped and fully-staffed emergency and community services and more. This type of planning has been neglected by Republican Boards who consistently say no to any tax increases, even when expenses rise and revenues decline, and without any short or long-term plan to confront the reality. This was simply irresponsible governance and lack of vision based on wishful thinking.

Better days are ahead for Newtown Township!!