Op/ed: Borough residents taxed by growth

I want to see the Kennett Square community move forward. I have been part of this forward movement for over 40 years. Unfortunately, what I see now is growth that is unsustainable for the community as a whole. As developers and well-intentioned people who don't sleep here make decisions, they are leaving many of us longtime residents behind. On top of the ground, things look great. However, under the ground, our infrastructure is crumbling.

In my years in Kennett Square I have been involved in paying for at least two sewer plant expansions. Why am I expected to pay for further expansions as we move forward? The move-forward crowd is proud of being one of the coolest towns in America, but at what cost to the citizens who just want to sleep here? We were here first, and our rights need to be protected. I absolutely believe that everyone should pay their fair share and that we as a community should support businesses that wish to call Kennett Square home. However, this support should not come from taxpayer dollars.

For whatever reason, our taxes have increased 170 percent in an eight-year period. There is either a hole in the dike or nothing coming in. As we strive to be a festival town, some folks are doing great. People who own businesses all around the country come to Kennett Square to sell their wares, and they do quite well. Some of the profits from these events go to charitable organizations, many not in Kennett Square.

Kennett Square is a walkable community; that's part of its charm. Being one square mile makes it easy to see, and if we were good businesspeople, we would call this little borough a venue. When people want to have an event, they need a venue, and you can bet that Kennett Square is at the top of the list of available venues. Things usually go well for the event sponsor, event participants, some business owners, borough employees and police, who can make a little extra in their paycheck. Unfortunately, nothing is set aside for the residents who sleep here.

As much as you try and dress it up to a lot of sleepers, festivals are just an inconvenience and intrusion of their weekend. On the advertising for these events, some of the "funders" have been publicly thanked, but the biggest funder has been left off and taken for granted: those who sleep here in Kennett Borough. We are left behind.

At one time we could walk through the beautiful grounds at Longwood Gardens for free, but now it's $20 for most of you. If you sleep in a Genesis facility, it costs about $325 a day; if you work at the Chester County Planning Commission, you make a fair wage, and if you own a business in Kennett Township, you pay taxes. However, if you use the venue of Kennett Square Borough, you pay the owners of the venue nothing.

In every place in the modern world, owning a venue like Kennett Square means you hit a home run, but where is the fair share for those who sleep here? I voted for seven people to represent me and my tax dollars, and I firmly believe that we should be getting our cut for anything that happens in our community. As developers tie into our sewer plant, they should pay for upgrades. Festivals should be charged a fee that makes it worth our while to allow them use of the venue.

Living in one of the coolest towns in America should make my taxes go down, not up. The Borough of Kennett Square has allowed too many folks who don't sleep here to determine our future. If Kennett Square is such a cool place to live, why don't most of the board members from Historic Kennett Square live here? Who on that board represents those who have been left behind?

Tony Talamonti

Kennett Square

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