Rostraver Township defers local income tax payment to July 15, touts buying protective equipment
ROSTRAVER TWP. — Commissioners held their regular monthly meeting via teleconference Wednesday as a precaution against COVID-19, and spent much of the meeting discussing and approving measures prompted by the pandemic.
The commissioners in a 4-0 vote approved the deferral of the township portion of local income tax payment from April 15 to July 15, aligning with the state and federal deadline extensions to July 15.
Commissioner Devin DeRienzo also noted that all garbage bills that were due Tuesday would not be assessed a late penalty, pushing the penalty date back to July 15 for that as well for now.
Commissioner John Lorenzo said the township held two emergency management meetings the past two Fridays under the declaration of disaster emergency the township had declared on March 16. They approved buying personal protective equipment — N95 masks, sanitizer, face shields, gloves and other protective items — through independent vendors to ensure that township police, emergency management, fire and road personnel have ample supplies for the foreseeable future.
“The safety of these departments is vital,” Lorenzo said.
Lorenzo said that the purchases are covered under the disaster emergency declaration and will be reimbursed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA).
The commissioners in a 4-0 vote formally adopted a resolution declaring the disaster emergency, which will be renewed every seven days until it is no longer deemed necessary.
DeRienzo noted that the sewage office is closed to the public until further notice and asked that taxpayers mail payment, pay online or place their payment in the mailbox outside in the parking lot.
In other business, the township accepted the resignations of two police officers, Stephen Olesky effective March 5 and Richard Taylor effective April 1.
Commissioner Gary N. Beck, Sr. thanked Taylor for his service. Taylor left Rostraver police to become Washington Township’s police chief, according to Beck.
Commissioner Henry S. Boldyzar, Jr. was absent from the meeting.
The meeting agenda was posted on the township’s website in advance of the meeting, and the website provided a link to join the meeting via the increasingly popular remote teleconferencing service Zoom and a number to call to dial in, although the website noted in advance that the latter option would not allow callers to address the board. There was just one public commenter.
Lorenzo said that there was a “high possibility” of adding a teleconferencing option to future in-person meetings for people that normally can’t attend.
“This is something that we’re going to be embracing,” Lorenzo said.