No tax increase expected for Bridgeville

Bridgeville’s real estate tax rate is expected to remain the same next year, maintaining a consistent level since 2019.

Borough council plans to vote Dec. 11 on adopting the 2024 budget, which calls for a rate of 6.5 mills on buildings and 10 mills on land.

The budget for the general fund, which serves as the principal source of the day-to-day borough operations, is slightly under $3.7 million.

“For the general fund comparing 2023 to 2024, operating costs of the municipality are increasing by $185,522.93 and will fund the addition of a ninth full-time police officer, and cover increased personnel costs such as insurance and contractual obligations,” borough manager Joseph Kauer stated in a detailed message accompanying the budget report prepared for council.

“Revenue as budgeted is increasing overall by approximately 4.5% in the general fund,” he noted, mainly from money generated by the borough’s earned income and real estate transfer taxes, plus Allegheny County’s Regional Asset District 1% sales tax.

“The common source of these increases is high inflation in the regional economy,” Kauer said.

Along with the addition of a police officer, budgeted items for the coming year include:

• Increases in municipal contributions to Bridgeville Public Library, Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Company and Southbridge EMS

• Replacement of a public works truck

• New bulletproof vests and tasers for all police officers

• Addition of a pickleball court at Cook School Park

• Investments to the sanitary sewer system, which includes extensive pipeline work, repairs to reduce stormwater infiltration, and contracted work for cleaning and inspection

• As per the borough’s Active Transportation Plan, construction of sidewalk curb extensions, also known as bump outs, on Bank Street and new sidewalks on Chartiers Street

• Installation of the first phase of wayfinding signs to key locations in the community, such as public parking lots, parks, the library and other public buildings

The budget addresses items listed in the draft version of a new comprehensive plan for Bridgeville, its first since 2005. Adoption of the plan is scheduled for the coming winter, according to the document.

One of the plan’s major considerations is flood mitigation, and the budget provides money for the permitting and engineering necessary to start construction of the first phase of a McLaughlin Run control project.

In August, the borough was awarded a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to construct a soldier beam and levee wall along the west bank of the creek from Commercial Street along Carol Avenue. Grants are funding the project fully.

The Bridgeville budget includes money for construction of a meadow with walking paths at McLaughlin Run Park, within a flood retention area converted from a former ball field after the creek spilled its banks in 2018. The borough was chosen by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for its Lawn to Meadow Conversion Program, which will handle the planting portions of the project.

Another budget item related to the comprehensive plan involves hiring consulting services to develop a zoning ordinance amendment specific to downtown Bridgeville, primarily along Washington Avenue.

The corridor is situated within a larger mixed-use district that “provides for the full array of commercial uses from retail to offices to auto sales/repair/gasoline to even light industry and warehouses,” the plan states. “A zoning district for the downtown should be more carefully tailored. It should target uses and building designs that cater to pedestrian traffic and enhance the local experience.”

To view Bridgeville’s 2024 budget report, visit bridgevilleboro.com/budgets.