John Mack Newtown

NOG Survey Results

Neighbors for Open Government (NOG) in Newtown Township – a nonpartisan citizen advocacy group – sought input to a survey regarding transparency, accessibility, and accountability within the local government.

Founded by a balanced coalition of two Democrats, two Republicans, and two Independents, NOG aims to put aside partisan politics to focus strictly on the future of Newtown Township and the actions of its elected officials.

The survey asked respondents to rate the importance of the following suggested improvements to how the Newtown Board of Supervisors conducts its business with 1 being not important to 5 being very important.

  • Accessible Documents: Adding direct links to bills lists, contracts, and other relevant documents within the BOS meeting agendas so residents can review what is being voted on prior to meetings.
  • Interactive Public Meetings: Changing the current BOS policy of not engaging in conversation during public comment, and instead moving toward a more conversational and responsive model used by neighboring municipalities such as Middletown.
  • Financial Responsibility: For its first major initiative, NOG is raising the alarm on the township's lack of financial transparency. For example, the group has discovered that Newtown has not posted a financial report to the township website since June 2025.
  • Website Improvements: Overhauling the township's website to fix broken links, remove outdated personnel information, and ensure residents can easily find the data they need.
Ratings

To date (13 April 2026) 41 responses have been collected. 39 (96%) respondents indicated that they were Newtown Township residents. In addition, 1 Newtown Borough and 1 Middletown Township resident responded. The following chart summarizes the ratings results:

Comments

In addition to rating specific goals, respondents were asked to provide any comments, including suggestions for other ways to promote and improve transparency, accessibility, and accountability within the Newtown Township local government. Here are the comments:

Comments

  • I’m troubled by the way the Supervisors appoint people to various boards. Take for instance the Sewer Authority Board. Why was Dennis Fisher appointed when he retired as a Supervisor due to his health. Another gentleman had applied & was ignored. The Sewer Authority debacle, which rate payers are still suffering the repercussions, was hidden from the public. Elyn Snyder was on the Sewer Authority board AND a Newtown Twp. Supervisor. Who had appointed her to the Sewer Authority? Her fellow Supervisors!
  • All residents to get monthly projects, proposals and expenditures. mailed to them.
  • During the supervisor’s reports the public should be allowed to ask questions!
  • Reviewing ordinances every five or more years for updates
  • Donor transparency needs to be more public.
  • The website is not updated and it is very difficult to find current information. The supervisors' emails should be readily available and they should respond to emails in a timely fashion.
  • Not only should things that have been decided be transparent but possibilities and ideas. For example, filling potholes, paving roads with specific timetable, budget information at least quarterly, giving more time to stop outrageous tax hikes
  • The BOS should be required to publish a quarterly newsletter prominently posted to the BOS website. The contents should follow a pre-defined agenda, including upcoming contracts and amounts, current tax rates, budget performance and upcoming spending proposals, among other topics
  • A biweekly report of Spending vs. Budget should be part of the Township Manager's Report.
  • I strongly disagree with INTERACTIVE PUBLIC MEETINGS. These exist at work sessions but during the official formal meeting, on the record and televised, Supervisors should not be subject to grilling and badgering. Nobody wants to be forced to answer unexpected questions without adequate time to carefully consider an answer.
Take the Survey Now

If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to respond to the survey now. It will only take a few minutes. You also have the OPTION to sign up to be kept informed about future "NOG" activities.

Take the Survey Now!

NOTE: If you have problems with the survey form, please download the fillable PDF version and email the completed survey to john@johnmacknewtown.info