Dear Elk Resident,

     I want to thank the members of your Township Committee for honoring me with the Mayor's appointment once again for 2010.   It has been a great experience working with my fellow committee members, residents, and Township Committees to improve the quality of life we all enjoy in Elk Township.   I thank all of you who volunteer to serve our township with your time, energy and input, and will continue to work with those around me to make decisions with all residents in mind.

     I want to take a moment to personally thank Joe Laux, owner of the Lake View Mobile Home Park here in Elk.  Joe worked with our 911 committee last year, putting hours of his personal time in, to correct the street address issues in his development.  The park now has new street assignments, home numbers, properly marked street signs, and 911 GPS access for those who may need assistance from our County or  local fire and police departments.  Mr. Laux's hard work for his community and the betterment of Elk as a whole should be commended from everyone in our town.  Thank You Joe !   If anyone wishes to come out to our 911 Committee meetings, they are held on the first Wednesday of each month in our municipal building at 7:30 PM.

      This year our township will decrease the size of our local government once again.  Our municipal staff will be reduced with the elimination of our Tax Assessor position, and our consolidation into the new County Assessment program.  We will continue to utilize part-time employees wherever possible. Our Municipal Utilities Authority has also decided to change its meeting dates from six times each year down to just four, to help reduce our costs.  In addition, our shared service agreement with Franklin Twp and their sub code official has been successful in keeping costs down as well.  We will also continue to discuss the consolidation of our court system with a neighboring municipality.

     As we continue to be creative with your tax dollars and reduce the size of our local government, we can only reduce so much before it affects negatively on the services to our town. For Elk residents only 25% of their tax bill goes towards local services. The other 75% is determined by your County and Local School Districts.  That 25% of tax revenue funds three primary services in the form of our Municipal Staff & DPW, trash/recycling collection, and our Police department.  With the loss of state aid once again this year, the burden is continually put on the local tax payer with much frustration from everyone.

     If anyone wishes to come out to one of our meetings and bring your ideas, please do so.  If anyone wishes to speak to me about our budget or other issues regarding our town, please call me at 856-881-5540.  

     Please enjoy the spring and all the new season brings with your family and friends.   

Thank you,

Mayor Phil Barbaro
April 2010