SHARPSVILLE, PA. Council to revise 2004 introductory budget

The proposed budget carried a 4.5-mill property-tax increase.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARPSVILLE, Pa. -- Borough council members wanted a 2004 budget that doesn't require taking money from capital reserves to balance the spending plan, but they didn't like what they got.
Borough Manager Michael Wilson had a $1,148,179 general-fund budget ready to present at Wednesday's council meeting, but it called for a 4.5-mill increase in property taxes.
Wilson said the water-department budget would require a 3 percent increase in rates to fund that $639,000 spending plan, up from $605,000 this year. Neither increase would pay for any additional services, but both would allow Sharpsville to keep the staff and services it now offers, Wilson said.
There wouldn't be a need to take any more capital-reserve money to shore up the general fund, but the increases wouldn't provide any additional money to begin replacing the money taken from the account over the last three years, he said.
They would be just enough to maintain the status quo, Wilson said.
Council took $260,000 from its capital-reserve account over the last two years to keep tax increases to a minimum, yet still had to increase property taxes by 4 mills this year.
Tabled introduction
Fearful that the reserve account would be depleted, council decided this year to enact its budget without using tapping again.
One mill cost the average residential taxpayer about $19 a year and generates $28,000 in revenue.
The current average residential water rate is $23 a month.
Council voted Wednesday to table the introduction of a 2004 budget, saying it will start a series of budget meetings at 6 p.m. Sunday in an effort to revamp the spending plan.
The general fund budget he suggested is actually $16,800 lower than this year in total spending, Wilson said, noting it reflects the loss of one police officer and one street department worker through attrition.
"Nobody's happy with this at all," Councilman Guy Moderelli said. "There's going to be substantial revisions to this budget."
The numbers proposed by Wilson are "by no means set in stone," President Jack Cardwell added.
Delaying the introduction will require council to schedule a special meeting for final passage in late December to meet mandatory state advertising requirements for a budget.
Introduction is now expected at the Dec. 10 regular meeting.
Council isn't looking at any layoffs to cut the size of the millage increase, Cardwell said, adding that the issue is down to haggling over the size of the increase and whether or not council wants to begin replenishing the capital-reserve account.
Councilman Alex Kovach suggested that the borough begin the budgeting process in July to avoid end-of-the-year scrambling to get a spending plan in place.
Moderelli said that could be difficult because many figures, such as next year's insurance costs, aren't available until November.