West Deer supervisors during a meeting last week gave the final approval of a $9.2 million budget that keeps real estate taxes at 2.99 mills.

The 2023 spending program marks a 2.2% increase from 2022.

The budget includes $2.2 million earmarked for the police department, which has 19 officers and eight vehicles. Law enforcement costs will rise by 4.7%.

The approved budget for the public works department is $3.2 million, a 17.6% decrease from this year for the seven-man crew that maintains 60.3 miles of township roads.

The budgeted amount for EMS is $60,000, a 6.8% increase from this year.

Josh Wiegand, chief of West Deer Fire Company No. 3, told supervisors he was hoping more would be budgeted for EMS-related services. He said the fire tax, enacted in 2006, has not kept up with the increased costs of public safety, forcing the fire companies and EMS personnel to raise more funds on their own.

“EMS funding has been flatlined,” Wiegand said. “We’ve gone from 400 calls per year to 1,000 calls per year. The $9,000 for our insurance is absent from the 2023 budget. It is important to continue to discuss adequate funding.”

The new budget also allots $1 million for paving. Roads on the list for repaving are: Haven Hill Drive; East Stag, West Stag, Allison and West Starz roads; Monier Road from Kaufman to Bairdford roads; and Canter Lane.

Six other roads are scheduled for double-seal coating in 2023.

Considerable work also is slated for Bairdford Park’s lower bowl, including parking lot paving and work on a dek hockey rink.

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