Tredyffrin Board of Supervisors Candidates Unanimously Oppose an EIT

There were no headline grabbing political fireworks and there was actually a lot of agreement on many issues during the Chester County League of Women Voters candidate forum among seven contenders for positions on the Tredffrin Township Board of Supervisors Monday night.

One would be hard pressed to call it a "debate" in the classic sense. The format allowed each candidate to answer a series of questions. Nobody was called out and in fact it was often hard to find real distinctions between the candidates on the broad themes of fire, police, economic development and consituent services. All candidates agree that those are all good things and some of the core, primary functions of municipal government.

Something that's not a good thing according to the Board of Supervisors candidates? The proposed Earned Income Tax (EIT). One by one Democrat Molly Duffy, Republican Mike Heaberg, Republican Kristen Kirk Mayock, Republican Paul Olson, Democrat Tory Snyder, Democrat Murph Wysocki and Republican John "J.D." Dibuonaventuro voiced their opposition to an EIT.

The EIT question may get more pointed Tuesday night when candidates for the T/E School Board square off in a similar candidates forum at 7 p.m. at the Tredyffrin Municipal Building. The school board is the political body that is currently considering a proposal to impose a one percent EIT on all residents of the district. A citizen Tax Study Group has been hearing expert testimony and public comments on the proposal since September. The study group will present its findings to the T/E School Board and the public on November 3, five days before the November election.

In this case the T/E School Board, not the Easttown or Tredyffrin Boards of Supervisors, could vote to put the question of an EIT up for a public vote on the April 2012 primary election ballot. Were the question to be on the ballot and win voter approval the two municipalities could claim half the revenue generated by the 1 percent tax.

Would the candidates favor taking half the revenue generated by an EIT for the townships if it were to be voted on and approved by the public?  The question did not come up and was not addressed by any of the seven candiates. At this point an EIT remains purely hypothetical. All of the supervisor candidates said they oppose the EIT in the first place.

The question could be a little thornier for the T/E School Board. Tredyffrin Township currently has $17 million in a reserve fund. The school district is staring down the barrel of a projected $15 million dollar budget shortfall within five years.

Meanwhile the seven candidates for Tredyffrin Board of Supervisors made their campaign pitches to voters and discussed a range of issues by answering voter questions as posed  by the moderator.

Among the questions and issues discussed Monday night:

•Overcoming issues (like permits) that may or may not keep prospective businesses from moving into the township

•Development in the township, including the Paoli Transportation Center

•What should be done to improve development in Chesterbrook

•The role of public/private partnerships, economic development innitiatives

•The candidates' priorities if elected or re-elected to the board

•Funding the township employees (police and professional) staff pension fund (all agreed it is in good shape and well managed)

•Finding more revenue for the township in the face of flat property transfer tax receipts

•The candidates involvement in local organizations

TE Patch will look at each question one by one and bring you the candidates' answers to each of these questions in the days leading up to the election.