State budget impasse has Springdale Township considering loans for infrastructure projects

Springdale Township officials might have to borrow money to finance projects in the next two years.

“We are looking at borrowing money in a big way for major projects that we were hoping to get grants for,” said Commissioner Tim Basilone, accounts and finance director.

“It looks like most of this will come in 2027,” he said.

Progress on obtaining grant funds from the state has been stalled due to the state legislature’s impasse on passing a budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year. That budget, which had a June 30 deadline for passage, is now nearly four months overdue.

Basilone said that has been a factor in addressing township infrastructure needs.

Among those needs are the replacement of a waterline that runs for about two-thirds of a mile between Thompson Run Road and Bucknell Road, the replacement of the Schrader Street waterline and repair of the malfunctioning Carson Street pumping station.

“These improvements have to be made,” Basilone said.

What the financial burden to township residents would be if the township has to borrow the money remains to be seen.

“There’s various mechanisms out there for low-interest financing, like PennVEST,” Basilone said.

Commissioner Ken Igo, public works director, pointed out that the water and sewer projects do provide a return on investment.

Meanwhile, the township has been successful when it comes to road improvements, according to Basilone.

“I think we made major strides in our paving projects,” he said.

“We actually paved more roads this year than we planned for,” Igo said.

Basilone said the township is on schedule with formulating a budget for 2026, but he said it’s challenging.

A big reason for that, he said, is the township has had to absorb $120,000 to $125,000 in increased costs for police services due to the police department merger.

Basilone said that amounts to a “10% hit” on the general fund budget, which totals $1.2 million for this year.