Hotel tax, solar array and more: Centre County staff give first look at proposed 2020 budget
The proposed 2020 county budget was presented for review during Tuesday’s board of commissioners meeting. The plan includes increased grant funding for human services and marks the tenth consecutive year where property tax rates have stayed the same.
The budget, totaling at $84.3 million, anticipates a projected growth increase in assessed values of 1.05% over 2019, said Director of Financial Management Thomas Martin. Last year, the rate was around 1.59%. The total amount is made up of $82.1 million for the total operating budget and $2.2 million for the capital budget.
“The process starts with a comprehensive analysis of this year’s revenues and expenditures,” said Administrator Margaret Gray. “Based on this review, the proposed budget is developed allocating revenues to carry out the county’s mission of providing the highest quality of services, programs and supports to the citizens of Centre County.”
After increasing the county’s hotel tax rate from 2.5% to 5% earlier this year, Martin said the county saw a $2.1 million increase in hotel tax revenue from the approved 2019 budget, but the majority of the county’s revenue — over $34 million — comes from federal and state grants, Martin said. Real estate tax generates over $28 million in revenue for Centre County.
Funding from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency will continue to help fund emergency 911 communication interconnectivity projects. The budget also includes increased grant funding for Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities and Drug and Alcohol services.
About half of the total budget is spent on human services and corrections — amounting to a combined amount of over $42 million.
The capital budget includes funds for the prison solar array, courthouse renovations, facility upgrades and repairs, camera building upgrades and paving for the Willowbank Building parking lot.
The proposed 2020 budget will be available for review online and at the Willowbank Building for 20 days. It is tentatively scheduled to be adopted at the Dec. 17 board of commissioners meeting but will be re-opened for review early 2020.
This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 1:03 PM.
