Brackenridge approves 2021 budget with no tax increase

Brackenridge residents won’t be paying more in real estate taxes next year despite a slight increase in spending.

Secretary-treasurer Denise Tocco said council approved a $1.2 million budget for 2021 that keeps the property tax rate at 6.25 mills.

The last time the borough raised taxes was in 2018, Tocco said. The property tax rate rose then from 5.77 mills to the current 6.25 mills.

Council President Timothy Connelly said the ongoing coronavirus pandemic had no impact on next year’s budget, but officials will be conscientious moving forward.

“We’ve held taxes down for years in Brackenridge,” Connelly said. “We’ll see this year how the taxes coming in are going to go because a lot of … people aren’t working, of course. It might be a tight year, but we feel pretty good about the whole budget.”

Next year’s total overall spending plan is about the same as this year’s, at about $1.2 million.

2021’s budget calls for a roughly $42,000 increase in spending, but Tocco said there are no major expenditures planned for next year.

“The one reason the revenue went up a little bit (is because) every other year we get money for rental licenses,” Tocco said. “For 2021, the income went up a little bit. There’s no really big project we have planned next year.”

Tocco said the borough budgeted $479,500 for police protection next year. That’s a 2% decrease from the $487,900 budgeted this year.

The street department, Tocco said, will get about $270,000 next year. That’s a roughly 3% increase over the $260,000 set aside for 2020.

Connelly said the borough has money set aside for street paving and will continue to make upgrades to its water plant.

“We did a bunch of valve replacements. We’re doing some updates that need done,” Connelly said of the water plant. “They’ve already started, and they’ll be continuing on in the next couple months.”