Ford City Proposed Budget Decreases More than $1 Million
Ford City Borough’s Finance Committee - including Council Vice-President Tyson Klukan, Council President Carol Fenyes and Councilwoman Beth Bowser - discussed preliminary details of the overall $6.9 million budget last night.
by Jonathan Weaver
Ford City Borough’s 2017 funding plan predicts a nearly-15 percent loss in total income – trimming the budget overall to $6.9 million.
Specifically, the funding plan – which will be advertised and available in the Borough office for the next few weeks –includes increases in projected tax revenue and grants, but more than $1 million less in public utility revenue after Council members elected to change inter- and intrafund transfer accounts following an audit.
Council President Carol Fenyes explained.
“Technically, these collections are pass-through amounts to the Sewage Authority, in the case of sewage receipts, and the General Fund, in the case of garbage and landfill collections – not income to the Public Utility Fund,” Fenyes said.
Finance Committee members also had to realize other hardships, but are not projecting a tax increase. Property owners would still be expected to pay 17.4 mills in taxes.
Fenyes explained Finance Committee members asked Borough Accountant Virginia Finnegan to assume several things when they began work in mid-September, including around-the-clock police protection, Borough employees’ projected raises and at least a 20 percent increase in healthcare premiums.
“And that the Council would not raise taxes,” Fenyes concluded. “With those assumptions in place, the Finance Committee faced a budget that fell short by $178,000 in the General Fund.”
A preliminary review of the budget includes less salary for a part-time Borough Manager (recommended to be Police Chief Michael Greenlee) and other salaries, but benefits from less funding needed for the new water treatment plant and retirement benefits.
Both Councilmen Tyson Klukan and Marc Mantini had reservations about Chief Greenlee’s employment for six months as Borough Manager – even though Mantini agreed “only on an interim period.”
“To establish a permanent position, I think this is too much authority for one hand,” Mantini said.
More discussion on the budget is projected to occur during the Council special meeting November 28.
The 2016 budget was adopted in February by the new Borough Council majority.
Council members agreed at that time, 5-1, to a modified budget that kept tax rates at the same rate as they were in 2015 rather than raising rates.
The revised budget had nothing to do with the Borough currently involved in DCED’s Early Intervention Program.
2 Comments
Other Links to this Post
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
By Watchingfromadistance, November 15, 2016 @ 8:54 AM
Did they budget for the grant monies they still owe the feds. Or are they hoping that if they don’t have to look at it, that it will go away on its own?
By jd718, November 15, 2016 @ 9:29 AM
Police Chief, zoning codes officer, borough manager, what’s next? Garbage Collector? Multi- tasking to the Max!