photo of David Ballard, Jay Conners, and Christian Soltysiak in Jenkintown Council Chambers with a copy of the Jenkintown Council Agenda superimposed upon them in the image.

Five Council Meeting Agendas: How Does Jenkintown Compare?

Jenkintown Matters,

If transparency starts with meeting agendas, then Jenkintown lags behind these four boroughs.

By law, an incorporated entity is required to have meetings and provide agenda to stakeholders in a timely fashion. As far as the law is concerned, that’s it, and Jenkintown complies.

But that’s about all it does. When Jenkintown residents want to see the details of what Council approves, they must file a Right-to-Know.

We took a look at four other surrounding boroughs to see what they provide to their citizens to see how Jenkintown compares. All agendas are for June meetings.

Jenkintown Borough

  • The Jenkintown Council agenda covers two pages.
  • It lists the order of items without detail.
  • There is one opportunity for public comment.
  • The agenda item calling the the approval of payroll and for invoices does not provide any detail of those invoices.
  • The item approving the Night Market Agreement with Evergreen Events does not show that agreement.

There are no attachments. Click on the Seal to download.

Rockledge Borough

  • Rockledge issues a Council agenda on an eight-page template, including cover with generous space between items to include future discussions and votes.
  • Rockledge Council leads off with a prayer.
  • The agenda provides a Finance report listing current monthly invoices and payments of four funds.
  • There are seven opportunities for public comment during their meetings.

There are no attachments. Click on the seal to download.

Borough of Ambler

Ambler Council’s agenda weighs in at twenty-two pages for June, 2024.

The agenda includes the following attachments:

  • A summary statement of the borough’s financial obligations for ten municipal services for the preceding month.
  • A full draft of a proposed zoning ordinance.
  • A detailed estimate for roadwork from Gilmore & Associates with 16 line items
  • A draft approval for construction work
  • A drafted recommendation to authorize payment of invoices for May
  • A drafted recommendation to authorize a lease agreement
  • A 4-page copy of a proposed intergovernmental agreement with Wissahickon School District
  • Detailed reports of fire, police, and ambulance activity.
  • Under the Public Utilities Committee section, the agenda provides copies of invoices and estimates for project work.

In Jenkintown, a Right-to-Know request is needed for citizens to review these attachments. Download the full agenda here.

Borough of North Wales

The agenda for the Borough of North Wales begins with a single page order of business, but supplements with the following attachments:

  • A twelve-page proposed Winter Maintenance Services Agreement with the Commonwealth for snow removal, including a map of the routes to be serviced.
  • A P&L statement for the previous month
  • A 7-page list of invoices for the previous month
  • A single-page list of the work performed by Public Works in the previous month

Jenkintown residents would need to file a Right to Know request for service agreements and probably any list of invoices.

Landsdale Borough

The Landsdale Borough agenda is truly epic in this comparison. It weighs in at 96 pages, and besides the usual order of business, it has attachments that include:

  • A monthly finance report with thirteen line items.
  • Seven pages of check register for all bills over $1,000.
  • Copies of two resolutions, including a four page resolution to approve a land development proposal
  • A four-page certificate of payment (invoice) including cover letter from Penoni Contractors, the same Jenkintown uses.
  • A copy of an 8-page sales agreement with Altec for a new truck
  • A copy of a 22-page license agreement with Greenlight Networks PA, LLC for power poles.
  • A copy of an 8-page proposal for swimming pool upgrades from Aquality Facility Design.
  • A copy of a 7-page proposal to replace a street pump from Dutchland, Inc.
  • A copy of a 3 page proposal from Remington & Vernick Engineers for sewer rehabilitation work.

And more. Click here to download the document.

In Jenkintown, a citizen would need to file a Right-to-Know request for all those attachments. Landsdale hands them out at meetings and makes them readily available on their website.

We understand that Jenkintown is among the smallest municipalities in the commonwealth, both in terms of geography and population. However, we believe that if it can provide this information in a packet to each of our council members, it can readily attach them on the agenda provided to the public — at least on the PDF uploaded to the website. Doing so would go a long way to proving their stated commitment to transparency than anything they’ve done so far.

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