You know what they say about the world’s two certainties, and Dan Marston is doing his part to help mitigate one of them:
“We all have enough of a tax burden.”
And he is looking for Monroeville residents who may want to help his cause while learning more about the workings of finance and, by extension, adding a key element to their résumés.
Marston chairs the board of the Monroeville Finance Authority, which provides nonprofit and governmental entities with access to low-cost, tax-exempt bonds. The board has a maximum membership of five and currently has two open spots.
“I thought this was a very important step for helping Monroeville make income to help the municipality, but in a way that doesn’t raise taxes,” Marston, whose profession is in psychology, said about the financial authority’s appeal for him. “It doesn’t involve having to cut services.”
He emphasizes a particular aspect of the authority’s role in the borrowing process.
“Monroeville is not taking out the bonds. We do not take on debt. We only manage the bonds,” he said. “That money goes into the Monroeville budget.”
For 2023, revenue via the finance authority is projected at $100,000, the same amount listed for the previous two years’ municipal budgets.
Since its formation in 2012, the authority has worked with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on selling long-term revenue bonds and refinancing a shorter-term note at a lower interest rate, with the amount involved totaling $641 million.
In addition to UMPC, Marston said that partnerships could be advantageous for other health-related enterprises, academic institutions and eligible entities “from any area that may be interested in cooperating with a municipality.”
Pennsylvania’s Municipal Authorities Act of 2001 establishes guidelines for eligibility, most notably that entities not be for-profit. The statute also outlines the scope of projects permitted, including “acquiring, holding, constructing, financing, improving, maintaining and operating, owning or leasing.”
The Monroeville Finance Authority meets quarterly, with the next meeting scheduled for April 19 and an alternate date on April 26.
For more information, visit monroevillefinanceauthority.org.
