Gilpin adopts $752K budget with no tax increase

Gilpin supervisors adopted a $752,000 budget for 2020 that includes no increase in property taxes.

The tax rate will remain at 7 mills.

More money is budgeted for police coverage than last year, according to Chairman Charles Stull, who serves as co-police commissioner.

The township now has two full-time officers, including police Chief Chris Fabec, and four part-timers.

Stull said the department will be adding up to 32 hours of coverage a week by part-time officers.

“It was a request of our police chief,” Stull said. “Now that we’re finally getting a full department built back up, he would have liked more hours for coverage and we were able to make that fit in the budget for him.”

The full-time officers will work 80 hours a week, with Fabec earning a salary of $50,544 and Patrolman Chad Shoupe earning a salary of $37,440. Roughly $30,000 is budgeted for part-timers, whose pay starts at $17.83 an hour.

The township also plans to build a garage for police vehicles at its municipal building. Money for that project will come from the township’s capital reserve fund, Stull said.

The project is expected to cost about $10,300. There is roughly $81,000 in the capital reserve fund, Stull said.

The supervisors adopted the budget and tax rate in a 3-0 vote. Supervisors Susan Brown and Kris Kulick were absent.

Editor’s note: Part-time officers will work up to 32 hours a week combined. Incorrect information provided to the Tribune-Review appeared in an original version of this story.