No tax increased proposed for Plum's 2021 budget, paving and park upgrades planned

Plum council plans to hold the line on taxes for the fourth straight year.

Borough officials unanimously approved advertising the 2021 spending plan and real estate tax ordinance Nov. 9.

They plan on adopting the final budget at council’s Dec. 14 voting session and maintaining the millage rate at 4.78 mills.

Council President Dave Odom commended administrators for their diligent work in minimizing expenses and adding to the borough surplus for the coming year.

“I think it’s a testament to the hard work of the borough staff,” Odom said. “Our financial manager, Mike Whitaco, is absolutely phenomenal in the level of granularity that he provides for our budget.”

The covid-19 pandemic also had a minimal impact on borough financial planning.

“We’re fortunate in that we don’t rely as much on commercial retail tax revenue like some of our neighboring communities like Monroeville,” Odom said. “That just wasn’t that big of an issue for us when it came down to a loss of that revenue from businesses that may have been shut down.”

Monroeville faces a more than $3 million shortfall in its 2021 budget largely due to a pandemic-related drop in taxes, namely the business privilege and mercantile taxes.

Whitaco delivered a proposed budget presentation prior to council’s vote Nov. 9.

He said revenues and expenses for next year are each projected at about $13.7 million.

Revenues include $4.41 million in real estate tax, $4.2 million in earned income/local services taxes, $1.4 million in intergovernmental funds such as state pension fund aid, and $786,000 in licenses and permits, including cable TV franchise fees.

Spending includes about $900,000 for street improvements, $935,000 for flood mitigation, $506,000 for EMS, $681,000 for debt service, $1.1 million for capital projects and $95,600 for the library.

Whitaco said health care costs are projected to decrease about 0.5% and fuel costs are expected to increase about 3%.

Purchases include three police vehicles and an excavator for the public works department. Playground improvements for Renton and Logan’s Ferry parks that were announced earlier this year were moved to 2021.

About $300,000 will be transferred from the borough’s estimated $4.5 million reserve fund to assist in capital improvements.

Councilman Mike Doyle said the borough’s tax anticipation note, a loan many municipalities and school districts acquire to maintain cash flow until real estate taxes come in, will be around $1.5 million next year compared to $3 million in previous years.

“That is a very significant thing considering cash flow is strong,” Doyle said. “We’re cutting that in half, and we’re not even going to need all that. It’s just there as a safety net.”

The proposed budget is expected to be posted on the borough website, plumboro.com, and available for review at the borough office later this month.

Council raised taxes by one mill in 2016 to bolster its EMS department and road improvement plans.

The ambulance company was able to purchase new equipment the following year as a result of its increased revenue.