Kennett BoS planning online meeting

Kennett Township supervisors will be holding an online public meeting on April 15.

The logistics of how the public can virtually join that meeting, as well as offer comment on anything the supervisors discuss or vote upon, are still being worked out, Kennett Township Manager Eden Ratliff said in a digital update Wednesday. Those details will be sent out to township residents and others as soon as they are finalized.

Kennett TownshipThe supervisors and staff broadcast the virtual information-only update in place of what would have been the first supervisors' meeting of the month, which had been canceled due to the COVID-19 restrictions in the area. The two videos from the update can be found on the township's website, kennett.pa.us.

"The goal with this gathering is to get some information out to you about what's happening in Kennett Township," supervisors' Chairman Richard Leff said.

Common among all the reports was how the township operations are adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic. The township office has been closed to the public, but the supervisors and township staff can be reached by phone or email.

"One thing I'm really happy to report to the citizens is that our township is up and running, and government services are still being delivered to you," Ratliff said. "If you need to communicate with your township, you can certainly do that, even though the doors aren't open. You can reach us virtually, you can give us a call, or you can email us."

Disaster declaration

Kennett declared a disaster emergency on March 13, which Ratliff said would be in place until the supervisors repeal it. Leff said the declaration would allow the township "to suspend regulatory requirements as necessary to respond to this disaster and to conduct township business."

Ratliff explained that everything has to be ratified by the supervisors during this time.

"So, there's nothing happening in this vacuum that the public isn't going to hear about directly and then provide public comment on," he said.

The police, fire and emergency medical services both in the township and the county are frequently communicating each day, according to Acting Chief Matt Gordon.

Police

The police department is still operating 24 hours a day, according to Gordon. Because of the pandemic, however, police will attempt to handle non-emergency calls over the phone if possible. Officers will also ask homeowners to stay outside if they respond to a resident's home, Gordon said.

"If we come to your home, we will ask you to step outside of your home if at all possible during police interaction in an attempt to reduce the chances of spreading the virus," he said.

For all emergencies, call 9-1-1. For non-emergencies or to reach the department, call 610-388-2874.

Finance department

One benefit from the current situation is that the township is getting closer to instituting a new general ledger system, according to Finance and HR Director Amy Heinrich. She said she hopes to submit a proposal to the board "between now and the next meeting."

"We have been researching for some time," she said, "… but we have finished up some of our diligence and are in final discussions as to what pricing and contract would look like."

That information, she added, would be posted on the township website where residents can review it.

The finance department is also working toward setting up an electronic payment system for vendors.

"You'll hear more about that process … when we're in the public meeting in a couple of weeks," Heinrich said, referring to the April 15 meeting.

The township is also getting close to hiring an accounting assist. Ratliff said they are "reaching hopefully the final stages of the process for the accounting assistant position." It was one of several positions that Ratliff had been advertising for. According to the job description, the accounting assistant will report to Heinrich and will handle accounts payable and receivables for Kennett, and also deposit and track money in township bank accounts, among other things.

Heinrich is working from home, she said, and staff can access "all our critical systems."

"Our finances are secure, our controls are in place, segregation of duties is in place, and we're about to hire our open position," Heinrich said.

About Monica Fragale

Monica Thompson Fragale is a freelance reporter who spent her life dreaming of being in the newspaper business. That dream came true after college when she started working at The Kennett Paper and, years later The Reporter newspaper in Lansdale and other dailies. She turned to non-profit work after her first daughter was born and spent the next 13 years in that field. But while you can take the girl out of journalism, you can’t take journalism out of the girl. Offers to freelance sparked the writing bug again started her fingers happily tapping away on the keyboard. Monica lives with her husband and two children in Kennett Square.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Loading...

Comments

comments

Leave a Reply