College Township tentative budget approved

Council approved a tentative budget Thursday that sees a 0.5 mill increase to the township, an increase attributed to borrowing the township plans to do toward long-term projects.

According to budget documents, revenues for 2016 total about $14.3 million and expenditures total about $13.6 million with an ending projected year-end fund balance of about $2.7 million. However, Township Manager Adam Brumbaugh said, the ending fund balance includes an anticipated $2 million loan the township plans on acquiring during 2016.

The actual available fund balance for the end of 2016 is calculated to be $605,839, he said. The $2 million to be borrowed has been marked to “finance projects with useful lives exceeding 20 years.”

The 0.5 mill increase will raise the township millage rate from 4.9 to 5.4 mills, according to the budget, or about 10.2 percent. Brumbaugh reminded council that the increase equates to about a $216,000 total revenue increase for the township.

The millage increase is expected to raise the property tax for the average municipal property by an additional $38 a year, Brumbaugh said, adding that if property taxes were the sole source of revenue for the township, the tax rate would be 24 mills, resulting in an average resident tax bill of $1,824.

The increase marks the first increase for the township since 2013, finance Director Robert Long said, when the township saw a 0.5 mill increase from 4.4 to 4.9 mills.

Brumbaugh outlined several spending sources in the upcoming budget, noting that the township pays about $1.5 million for police services — 13.2 percent of the total budget — while the largest chunk of spending was marked for capital projects — $4.5 million, or 39.5 percent of the total budget.

Significant projects are planned for the upcoming year, he said, including the PennDOT turnback program of Houserville and Puddintown roads. About $2 million is expected to come to the township from PennDOT for physical improvements to the roads.

Brumbaugh also referred to a $400,000 allocation for potential upgrades to Manor Drive and Mountaintop Avenue, but remains to be seen if or when that will move forward.

He broke down the revenue sources for council as well, indicating that 20 percent of the budget is provided by property taxes with another 20 percent from earned income taxes and local services tax. The projected $2 million borrowing makes up about 16.5 percent of the revenues.

The township must adopt a budget by Dec. 31, he said. With the adoption of the tentative budget, the township is required to advertise the budget for 20 days, putting council in the position of adopting a final budget with a public hearing on Dec. 17.

This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 10:24 PM with the headline "College Township tentative budget approved."