T
Department of Finance 2019 Budget Highlights
Township Budget Overview The Township’s Board of Commissioners have once again approved a budget with no tax increase. For the tenth consecutive year, the Township’s real estate tax remains at 3.83 mills and the earned income tax rate remains at 0.80%. Development of the Township’s 2019 budget began in May 2018, and continued through the subsequent months to include multiple internal and public meetings. The 2019 budget was adopted on December 3, 2018. Thirteen separate funds comprise the budget. The operations of each fund are accounted for by providing a separate set of self-balancing accounts, which include its assets, liabilities, fund equity, revenues, and expenditures. This compartmentalization of resources, transactions, and statements is necessary to ensure that specific revenue sources are used to finance the specific activities for which they are intended. The Township’s primary operating fund is the General Fund, which is supported by taxes, fees, and other revenues. The General Fund includes all operations not required by law, policy, or external restriction to be recorded in other funds. Other major funds are the Capital Projects Fund, the Sanitary Sewer Fund, and the Boyce Mayview Community & Recreation Center (C&RC) Fund. Full details are available in the Township’s award-winning budget document, which is online at www.twpusc.org and available at the Upper St. Clair Township Library. Where the Money Comes From The Township’s primary sources of operating revenue in 2019 continue to be real estate tax and earned income tax. These taxes make up 38% and 41%, respectively, of total General Fund revenues. Other taxes and other revenue comprise the balance of the operating revenue. Other taxes include real estate transfer, public utilities, sales and use, and local services taxes. Other revenue consists of licenses and permits, fines, fees, rental and service agreements, investment earnings, recreation fees, and other non-tax revenue. General Fund revenues are budgeted at $22,014,855 for 2019, an increase of 1.87% from the 2018 budget. Notable changes in General Fund revenue include increases in interest income, earned income tax, and real estate tax revenue resulting from continued development growth. The Township’s real estate tax rate remains at 3.83 mills and the earned income tax rate remains at
0.80%. The General Fund is projected to end the year with an unassigned fund balance of $3,950,233, or 17.9% of estimated 2019 General Fund revenues, which is in line with the Government Finance Officers Association’s recommended fund balance level. Where the Money Goes General Fund operating expenditures are projected to be $16,377,465. This is 3.41% higher than the 2018 budget for a variety of reasons, the most significant of which is a $184,000 increase in the cost of refuse and recycling collection, the result of a new five-year agreement with Waste Management. Without that change, the increase in operating expenditures for 2019 is 2.44%. The accompanying chart illustrates how those expenditures are distributed across the major programs. The Township’s two largest programs are Public Safety (which includes the Police Department and Animal Control Services) and Public Works. These programs combine to represent 64.3% of the operating portion of the General Fund budget. The remaining difference of projected revenues over operating expenses of $5,637,390 will be used to fund the debt service costs of $1,343,564, and transfers to other funds of $4,293,826.
Capital Projects Fund
The Capital Projects Fund accounts for most of the Township’s major equipment purchases and capital projects. Funding for these items comes from grants, a General Fund transfer, and existing capital reserve. In 2019, the Capital Projects Fund budget once again includes $1,700,000 for the annual Street Improvement Program. Also in this fund for 2019 is support for the Township’s partnership with PennDOT for a two-year plan to improve the traffic signals along Route 19 throughout Upper St. Clair. The Route 19 intersections slated for improvement this year are at Boyce and Old Washington Roads. This fund’s 2019 budget also reflects the Township’s desire to explore opportunities for sidewalk construction and rehabilitation in 2019, focusing on areas where current segments can be connected and neighborhoods can be linked to civic amenities. Staff will also seek grants and partnership opportunities to provide further resources for this initiative.
For more information, visit www.twpusc.org.
Cont. on page 50
Spring 2019
UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY
49
