Greensburg keeps property taxes flat in uncertain budget year

Greensburg will need to be financially flexible in 2021 due to the uncertainties of the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing economic recovery, according to Randy Finfrock, councilman in charge of accounts and finance.

Council unanimously approved an $11.8 million budget Monday at a virtual meeting held via the Zoom videoconferencing platform.

“We’re not in control of this, and that bothers me more than I like to let on,” Finfrock said. “This is a covid budget, this isn’t a Randy budget.”

The budget is substantially the same as the preliminary version presented to council last month, Finfrock said. It keeps real estate taxes flat at 25.05 mills and cuts discretionary spending, while ensuring that city services don’t face cuts.

It’s about $200,000 smaller than the 2020 budget thanks to the economic impact of the pandemic, which has slashed revenue.

The city has a long list of projects it would like to complete, such as replacing the street sweeper destroyed by fire in 2019, replacing a 27-year-old dump truck, and performing overdue maintenance on city buildings. These have been put on hold for 2021.

“The budget is in decent shape, it’s a little light on discretionary expenditures, but that’s life in 2020,” Finfrock said.

However, these projects could be revisited in the year ahead. If a coronavirus vaccine becomes widely available and the local economy rebounds quickly, the city might be able to afford to restore some of the line items cut from the budget.

If revenues are slow to rebound, further cuts could be necessary, according to Finfrock.

“If covid lasts longer, if the county remains shut down… then we’re going to have to look at that budget again in the springtime and see what we can do,” he said.

Some of the city’s major plans for 2021 are still on the table. Design work on renovations for Spring Avenue Park will move forward, as it was funded largely by grants. Work on a comprehensive plan for the city will continue.

The city will build a new public works garage to replace the one destroyed by fire in 2019. This project will mostly be funded through insurance. The city will pay for the rest with leftover money from 2016, when council borrowed $3 million to repair the Robert A. Bell Garage and fund other capital projects.

Council also voted to double the realty transfer tax, which is collected when property is sold, from 0.5% to 1%

The new budget raises several fees and fines

Parking fines will rise from $20 to $30, or from $25 to $35 if not paid within 10 days.

Season passes to Veterans Memorial Pool will go up $25 for residents and $50 for non-residents. That means a family pass would cost $225 for residents, or $275 for non-residents.

The senior rate at Mt. Odin Golf Course will go from $24 to $25.