Today’s news and information gleanings from here and there.

Today’s quote … “Coward.” – Crowd chants as “the weasel” made a visit to Rhode Island on Thursday. – The Hill

• Thursday night’s School District’s Board of Directors’ “committee of the whole” meeting included a contingent of Columbia Borough’s elected public servants, the borough manager and the borough’s consultant, Rebecca Denlinger. They came to encourage the school board directors on the newly enhanced L.E.R.T.A. proposal  approved by the borough earlier at the February borough council meeting.

• Following the February meeting, Columbia news, views & reviews posted this: “During last night’s meeting borough consultant Rebecca Denlinger presented a renewed and more aggressive L.E.R.T.A. (tax abatement) scale.  The proposed scale would be for three years at 100% and two years of 50% abatement on property improvements. Adoption of the proposal requires the joint approval of the Columbia Borough School District and the Borough. This is critical because the school taxes represent the significantly higher tax burden. The borough is seeking a date for a joint borough / school district meeting.”

• “What’s L.E.R.T.A. Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act.”

• Columbia’s current L.E.R.T.A. programs are ordinances | Ordinance 840 – Commercial LERTA | Ordinance 841 – Residential LERTA.

• Denlinger, the mayor and Columbia Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) Executive Director, Janice Nikoloff, stressed that this beefed up by 33% LE.R.T.A. is needed to attract interested developers to invest in Columbia property. Though there’ve been on takers of the existent L.E.R.T.A., each felt that the “new L.E.R.T.A.” will generate enough interest to sway interest – particularly the interest of two properties now in discussion.

• From the CEDC Website: “We encourage investors to review our FINANCING section for information on Columbia’s Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) Commercial and Residential Programs, Historic Tax Credits, and other state and local financial assistance programs.”

• It was stated that there’s a very interested developer for the long-time vacant Hotel Columbia site in downtown’s main traffic area.

• Citizen Frank Doutrich extolled the board of directors to get rid of the “per capita tax.” The Per Capita Tax rate for 2016-2017 is $15.00 for every resident age 18 or over. Per capita tax name and/or address corrections must be made through the Columbia Borough School District Tax Office, 200 North Fifth Street, Columbia, PA 17512.”

Click on the graphic to see the list.

• The posting of the school district’s per capita tax delinquency list at Columbia Spy (and at Columbia news, views & reviews) generated a raft of comments (over 50, so far)”

• Is it a nuisance tax? | Appears most school districts in Lancaster County have dropped the per capita tax. Columbia news, views & reviews searched school district Websites for per capita taxes to find information for the list. There’s a tab at the Lancaster County Association of Township Supervisors Website that ostensibly has the taxes for all county schools. It’s not current because it shows Columbia’s school district with no taxes.

• One school district in the northeastern part of the state claimed in 2013, “One reason continuing this (the per capita tax) is the perception that the per-capita tax is at least one levy that every adult resident must pay.”

Audience ratings declined for this speech to Congress. – News Corpse