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Residents press Abington commissioners for committee review and earlier release of preliminary 2026 budget
Summary
Residents at the Oct. 9 Abington Township Board of Commissioners meeting urged the board to restore more committee-level review and to make the preliminary 2026 budget available to the public before the scheduled presentation.
Multiple residents spoke during the Oct. 9 meeting—s public-comment periods to press the board for greater transparency and more committee review before items are advertised for vote.
Resident Laura Layman said she opposed advertising zoning-ordinance changes, red-light camera contracts and PennDOT agreements for board votes without prior committee review. "I absolutely don't believe that you dare to bring ordinance changes and zoning ordinance changes and red light camera contracts ... to a vote at the board of commissioners without a single committee review," Layman said. She added that the committee-of-the-whole practice had lengthened meeting times and "rushed everything through with absolutely no oversight by the community and no participation."
Layman and other residents also criticized the township's timetable for the 2026 preliminary budget. Resident Connie Briggs described filing a Right-to-Know request for the preliminary budget and receiving a denial stating the records were exempt under Section 701(b)(10) of the RTKL because the budget was under revision. Briggs said she requested the budget in digital format by Oct. 14 so residents could review it before the Oct. 16 presentation; she told the board the RTK denial left residents "deer in headlights" at the meeting.
Zoom participant Ross Abel (a resident and realtor) asked whether the township had an update on a systematic traffic-calming and active-transportation strategy; staff said the matter is scheduled for an upcoming planning meeting on the 29th and that staff would follow up.
Board members responded largely by noting that the advertised ordinances will still undergo a working session and that there will be opportunities for public comment, while residents urged the board to release documents earlier to allow for meaningful input.
