County Tax Rate Proposed to Stay the Same
Armstrong County Financial Advisor Carly Cowan reads the highlights from the proposed 2015 budget- which needs $1.4 million more to balance but will not increase County taxes for a second straight year.
By Jonathan Weaver
County departments and pass-through organizations are expected to spend $1.4 million more in 2015, but taxpayers won’t be paying an added cost.
As presented by County Financial Advisor Carly Cowan yesterday morning, the $20.8 million General Fund budget is increasing, but for a third consecutive year, taxes will remain the same.
“The millage rates are kept the same overall – we were able to shift half a mill from debt service to general purpose, creating some money to cover the increase we were seeing in the General Fund budget,” Cowan said. “There have been some additional expenses, but with the shift in millage, we’ve been able to manage them, preliminarily, in the 2015 budget.”
The nearly-50 individual department budgets collected vary – with some department heads submitting budget decreases and some budget increases.
While the Commissioners’ office is projected to bring in about $6,000 less in revenue next year (about $105,000), expenses might rise more than $18,000.
Commissioner Richard Fink attributed the increase directly to increases in healthcare and pension costs.
While the Planning department is projected to bring in about $100,000 more in revenue, expenses are expected to increase about $108,000.
Planning and Development Executive Director Rich Palilla said different planning grants could have been expended within the year – such as grant funds dedicated to each municipality through the Community Development Block Grant program.
“If you look over the past five years, it varies widely,” Palilla said. “There’s no change in operational cost – the staff stays the same – so it really has to do with outside sources.”
He said planning officials are always diligently searching for grant programs to recoup costs.
A three-percent salary increase to employees was also added into the projected funding plan.
Cowan praised the department leaders for managing their expenses.
“I think that they’ve done a good job to manage within their individual budgets,” Cowan said.
Commissioner Chair David Battaglia said Cowan will still be going line-by-line with the departments until the final budget passage in a final effort to “tighten our belts” and find any savings.
“What we’re doing now is we’re trying to plan several budgets – we can only do so much for so long,” Battaglia said. “We’re going to be working diligently with our departments and elected officials to streamline.
“We have to look at every aspect of every budget - but at the end of the day, employees cost us a lot of money, but you don’t want to cut services. We’ll start with the basics.”
He added the ultimate goal should be to attract new homeowners to spread out the overall taxation.
“By keeping taxes from being raised, that sends the right message to encourage people to want to move here,” Battaglia said.
Some decreases to other funding sources – such as Community Action (more than $650,000), Liquid Fuels (more than $500,000) and the Armstrong County Health Center (more than $250,000) does not impact the General Fund.
The County Capital Improvement Fund increased nearly $100,000 – to $150,000 – in anticipation of installing an Information Technology “switch.”
“It’s a large piece of machinery – very critical to our whole, county-wide network, and we’ve been kind-of limping along as it’s been getting older, so its going to need replaced and we want to be proactive in that,” Cowan said. “I don’t have the final number on that.”
County assessed values will also decrease $4.6 million.
The last county tax increase – two mills - was in 2012
The preliminary budget figures will be available for public inspection until the final budget vote at the December 18 meeting.
Local News | jweaver November 21, 2014
By waldo, November 21, 2014 @ 10:50 AM
Another no tax increase Kittanning West Kittanning Leechburg the county guess who’s going break the string. Ford City Any one can run a town with tax increases every year. Go bankrupt and let the state run the place They are broke too so they will show FC how to spend money without having it.
By sickofpayingforit, November 21, 2014 @ 6:27 PM
Commissioners-
Rising costs of health insurance and pensions are causing more expenditures. Got it.
Here is what the private sector does.
They increase the price of their product to cover this BUT have to keep costs in line to not lose customers. Your product is Armstrong County’s services, and your customers are the citizens. They cannot afford to pay any more for this product.
So, the private sector then reduces the costs of the pension plans and the health insurance by either reducing the quality of those, or securing higher employee premiums to keep the robust, present-day, coverage.
Most private sector employees don’t have a pension nor “good” health insurance anymore, at least those that aren’t heavily subsidized by their pay check. Why don’t you become a trail blazer and move the county’s tax-fed positions forward with the times, and align them with the private sector employee’s benefit packages. Don’t worry about a mass exodus of employees. If you advertise those jobs, they will be filled within a couple days by applicants, or even better, we won’t have to create positions for campaign donors. They can have the positions vacated by the people who are faced with exactly the same thing all the rest of us are.
I think it goes “a government for the people, by the people and of the people”. Not a government paid for by the people to give a few people better standards of living.
Ever hear of Boeing?
By jorn jensen, November 23, 2014 @ 11:21 PM
Absolutely correct sickofpayingforit. Thing is, these commissioners haven’t worked in the private sector, so they have no clue of what you speak. Rich Fink was a union coal miner, I believe, but not in management and having to make profitability decisions. Bob’s always been in public service. Dave - nada.
By Ryan Bloser, November 24, 2014 @ 8:58 AM
I have always wondered what credentials one must possess to consider a county “financial adviser”.
Also, I would love to see the county begin to talk about real estate reassessment.
By forward, November 24, 2014 @ 10:59 AM
jorn, you would find that Bob worked at ACMH for quite a few years. Rich working in the coal mine is certainly private sector.
Note : this is not an endorsement for this group of commissioners, just a clarification.