West Deer passes $7.2M budget, no tax increase

West Deer Supervisors on Wednesday adopted a $7.2 million budget for 2021 that keeps the property tax rate at 2.99 mills.

At that rate, the owner of a West Deer home assessed at $117,000 will pay $350 in taxes next year.

“I’m extremely proud of this budget,” Supervisors Chairman Arlind Karpuzi said. “We’ve done a lot of great stuff here, and I’m excited to move into the new year.”

The overall spending plan is about 11% higher than was budgeted for this year, which was $6.5 million.

Roughly 40% of the spending has been budgeted for the public works department, while 33% is going toward public safety.

The public works department is set to receive $2.8 million, a roughly 19% increase from the $2.3 million budgeted this year.

Of that, $1.4 million will be used for street paving. That’s a $400,000 increase over this year.

Township Manager Dan Mator previously said street paving “was one of the expenditures that was not expended this year.”

“We had $1 million budgeted, but we only spent a little bit over $500,000,” Mator said. “The roads that were left off of the 2020 program are being added to the 2021 program.”

Roads set to be repaved include Rittman Road, Shuster Road, Glasgow Road, Donaldson Road, Lawrence Court, Quail Ridge Court and a portion of Logan Road.

The township set aside $2.1 million for police protection, an increase of 12% over this year. All police officers are expected to receive a pay raise.

Supervisors also budgeted $15,000 for a building feasibility study to redesign the municipal complex. Mator said the study is needed because the township has outgrown the existing building, which was built in 1952.

“It’s come up at numerous meetings. Every time we talk about hiring a new employee, the question always comes up, ‘Where do you put this person?’” Mator said. “We literally do not have any place in this building to put another person.”