Correcting "Fake Facts" About Newtown Township Taxes
In a letter to the editor published in the February 5, 2018, issue of the Bucks Courier Times (BCCT), former Newtown Township Supervisor Gerry Couch accused Democrats on the current Board of Supervisors – yours truly included – of raising taxes by $1 million and claimed that “taxes are going up $168 for [the] average household” (see letter here).
Unfortunately, neither "fact" is true!
Newtown is NOT “poised for a $1 million dollar tax increase” as Mr. Couch claims. According to the BCCT editors, the mistake was theirs. OK. Sh*t happens, I suppose.
The letter goes on to mention that taxes are “going up $168” for the average household. Only the owner of a house valued at $1.68 Million will see Newtown taxes “go up” $168 in 2018. As for the average Joe like me, whose house is valued at $340,000, the tax will “go up” $34! I could save two to six times that by switching to a different trash pickup company!
The editors of BCCT should be ashamed of themselves to allow such an obviously fake number to be published. This "fake fact" should have been known to be incorrect based on a previously published article that included the correct data. This sloppy journalism has had consequences. It undermines the trust in and support of our local government, which has already received many phone calls from residents.