$6M proposed Reserve budget for 2026 carries no property tax increase despite rising costs

No property tax increase is included in Reserve’s proposed $6 million budget for 2026.

As proposed, the township’s tax rate would remain 6.47 mills, following a 1-mill increase for 2025.

For a property at the township’s $95,000 median value, the annual township property tax bill would remain at about $615.

“Last year, I said I did not want to ever ask for another tax increase, and I still feel the same way. I’m committed to that,” Reserve Manager Jan Kowalski told commissioners during a budget presentation. “I feel it would place an unfair burden on our residents.”

While there will be no increase in Reserve’s portion of water and sewer charges, the quarterly capital improvement charge would be increased by $2 to pay for large projects. Alcosan will increase sewage treatment rates by 7%, which the township will pass through to customers, Kowalski said.

The proposed township budget is about 18.4% higher than the $5.1 million spending plan for 2025, but Kowalski said there is not really an increase in spending.

“Multiple projects that were budgeted for 2025 will not take place until 2026, so we actually project a surplus in 2025 rather than the budgeted deficit. This accounts for over $400,000,” she said. “Also, we project more grant revenue in 2026 so $444,000 of the spending will be reimbursed by grants.”

Other transfers in and out are reported as revenues and expenditures, “but they are really just moving money between funds,” she said. “This is higher than 2025.”

Reserve is challenged by tax revenue not keeping up with expenses, the cost of operating its police department, payments on long-term debt and costs associated with the sewer consent order.

There are 12 cemeteries in Reserve, and 306 acres, or 24% of the land in the township, is tax-exempt, Kowalski said. Since the start of the year, tax-exempt property increased by $307,000, she said.

The taxable value of the township’s real estate decreased by $370,000 from the start of the year, meaning the township will not collect the tax revenue that was expected this year, Kowalski said.

“This was not anticipated,” she said. “Usually assessed values go up, not down.”

The township is expecting new tax revenue from a 42-unit townhome development, Haser Place, on Geyer Road. In the works for about five years, units are expected to be for sale in the spring with a dozen occupied by the end of 2026, Kowalski said.

Public safety accounts for about 32% of the township’s costs, while public works represents about 25%.

Salaries for police and public works employees will increase 3%. Police will be in the second year of a three-year contract; public works will be in the last year of a four-year contract.

While tax revenues have increased 114% from 2006 to 2026, the cost of maintaining the township’s police department has increased 143%, according to Kowalski.

The police department is the largest line item in the general fund budget at about $886,400, 91% of which is for salaries and benefits.

While the township entered into a state study with Etna to form a regional police department, the study found it would cost each more than they are spending separately. Officials have said they need to further explore the concept.

To comply with a consent order with the Allegheny County Health Department aimed at stopping untreated sewage from overflowing into waterways during storms, Reserve was among 83 municipalities required to develop a source flow reduction project and will have to report on the results by Dec. 31, 2026.

The cost of cleaning and lining or replacing failed sections of sanitary line exceeds $500,000. The township is performing it in phases as it gets grants to offset part of the cost.

In 2025, the township applied for more than $2 million in grant funding for projects such as waterline replacements, stormwater remediation and technology updates. While most are still awaiting a decision, the township received a $50,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission for technology upgrades and a $4,050 recycling performance grant.

The township owes $2.1 million on a 20-year loan taken out in 2021 to repair a landslide on Pittview Avenue. Annual payments on the loan are $164,000.

“Without that debt, the general fund would be doing great,” Kowalksi said.

Large projects planned for 2026 are:

• Electric Hill storm sewer improvements and paving of a portion of Ohm and Edison streets, which was moved from 2025.

• Paving Fleiner and Magnolia streets, moved from 2025, and other streets as funds permit.

• Source flow reduction project sewer repairs including the Lonsdale Street sewer separation.

• In-house water projects to connect the Mt. Troy and Ramage mainlines, creating a looped system offering greater reliability, improved water age and better fire flow capacity.

• In-house water valve replacement project.

The 2026 budget also includes replacing the code enforcement vehicle, a 2014 Ford SUV that was previously a police vehicle that has become unreliable because of its age. The township wants to replace it with a smaller vehicle that has better gas mileage.

Commissioners are expected to vote on adopting the budget on Dec. 3.