No tax increase expected in Monroeville

Monroeville’s proposed 2023 budget calls for no changes in municipal tax rates.

If adopted by council as scheduled on Dec. 13, the spending plan maintains the property tax rate at 4 mills, meaning property owners will continue to pay $400 per $100,000 of assessed value. Earned income, business privilege and mercantile taxes also remain the same.

As presented Oct. 11 by municipal manager Timothy Little, the proposed budget lists projected expenditures at $36.647 million, or 6.04% more than the current year.

Part of the increase is attributable to a commitment of $5 million to Monroeville’s five-year capital improvement program as “seed money,” according to Little’s message accompanying the budget.

“The municipality has adopted a pay-as-you-go method to fund capital projects,” he wrote. “Until an inflow of diversified funds can support the CIP, it will be on a year-to-year basis.”

Bond issues financed the program in the past, leading to escalations in municipal debt service, they payments on the principal plus interest. Through the refinancing of outstanding bonds at lower interest rates, the municipality has reduced its liability by a considerable amount.

In his message, Little also cited inflation as a contributor to rising expenditures:

“Some obvious examples are gas and diesel costs that have nearly doubled as represented in this budget. The cost of heating and air conditioning for municipal buildings has also seen similar increases; supply chain delays for vehicles and their parts have reduced productivity, which is difficult to quantify, but is easily observed by department heads.”

Adding to the municipality’s financial obligations is the cost of health benefits, totaling $3.419 million for active employees and $1.903 million for retirees, an increase of $370,925 compared with 2022 figures. Health insurance premiums are rising by 4% for employees and 9% for retirees.

“What council and the public are required to know is that those who have retired in recent years and those scheduled to retire in 2023 will still receive post-retirement health benefits under the same pre-65 health benefits agreement that active employees receive,” Little wrote, “while at the same time new health benefit premiums will be paid for the retirees’ replacements and other new hires.”

To balance revenues against expenditures, the proposed budget calls for using $2.543 million from the municipality’s unassigned general fund balance, a surplus estimated to total $34.308 million by year’s end. As per municipal policy, 10% of that amount is kept in reserve.

By Dec. 31, 2023, the unassigned general fund balance, minus the reserve, is projected at $28.306 million.

The proposed budget can be viewed at www.monroeville.pa.us.