CV ‘chicken law’ undergoes review

(12/20) The Carroll Valley Borough Council agreed at their December 13 meeting to send proposed regulations governing the ownership of chickens as pets to the solicitor for review.

The purpose of the draft regulation would determine how many chickens a resident could own, as well as provide other ownership guidelines.

Some residents have stated that the birds not only produce eggs that can be used by the owners but also provide children with experience in raising domestic birds.

The borough Planning Commission has been mulling over the draft ordinance for several months.

Commission member Edward Kaplan told the council at their December meeting that Supervisor William Reinke had made a number of recommendations regarding the draft.

The draft presented at the December council meeting, he said, was based primarily on an existing ordinance in place in North Carolina.

Kaplan noted that the planning commission’s "deliberations produced considerable policy differences" of opinion among its members. It was, he said, "a very lively discussion" when it came to legal issues and ramifications.

The draft was turned over by the council to the borough solicitor for further review.

Councilman Neal Abrams said the proposed chicken regulations would likely generate "a lot of conversation in the borough."

CV approves 2012 budget and tax levy

The Carroll Valley Borough Council approved the municipality’s 2012 budget, supported by a real estate tax increase at their December 13 meeting.

The council approved the publication of an advertisement of the then-proposed budget at their November 15 meeting, along with publishing the intent to raise the tax rate.

The budget was adopted at the December meeting in the amount of $1,753,807, along with a tax hike of 2.45 mills, or 24.5 cents on each dollar of assessed real estate value, a .707 increase over the current tax rate.

Councilmen Dan Patton and Bill Reinke voted against the budget and the tax increase.

Patton stated that more expense cuts in the budget should have been implemented. "There are still areas I feel were nonessential," and could have been trimmed or deleted from the budget, he said.

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