Aug 5, 2015 By Terry Kish 3 min read

Upper St. Clair commissioners took time at the Aug. 3 regular meeting to recognize the municipality finance department’s receipt of the Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award.

Commissioner Mark Christie commented that this was the seventh year Upper St. Clair had received the award, which was established by the GFOA to encourage and assist state and local governments to prepare budget documents of the very highest quality.

Board president Robert Orchowski said that the tools the finance department provided made the board’s job easier.

At the same meeting, USC finance director Mark Romito presented highlights of the township’s five-year capital improvement program for 2016-2020. Romito projects that proposed projects during that time frame will be approximately $74.9 million dollars.

Summarized by major category, the proposed five-year plan projects capital equipment spending at $5,816,400, street improvement at $8,725,000, storm sewer projects at $1,500,00, public building and park improvements at $13,109,000, sanitary sewer projects at $37,930,000, and community and recreation center projects at $7,802,200.

Projected funding sources are the state liquid fuels fund for $2,500,000, the Boyce-Mayview RAD fund for $350,000, the sanitary sewer fund for $5,930,000, the C&RC fund for $2,802,000, the capital projects fund for $20,786,400, and $42,514,000 from other sources.

Romito pointed out that projects for each year are listed as priority fund items or projects with funding under review, and not all items will be included as the township goes through the budget process each year.

Looking to next year’s budget, Romito commented on some of the projected capital improvement items for 2016, including the purchase of a replacement fire truck for $800,000, public building and park improvements, which include $1,234,000 in grant-funded projects like the perimeter trail and Mayview sidewalks, and purchase of a new salt dome.

Tennis bubble replacement is planned for 2016, a project that will be paid for with funds from the tennis program. At the C&RC, $2 million is projected for building modifications, with an additional $478,000 projected for equipment and other expenses. It was noted that these projects would be entirely funded from the C&RC fund.

For 2016, sanitary sewer projects include $1,220,000 for maintenance, repairs, source reduction and flow monitoring, $350,000 for pump station repairs, and $2 million for force main projects. The projected projects for this category are $2 million higher than 2015, and Romito said that debt issuance may need to be considered for a portion of these projects.

Looking ahead, Romito said that more than half of the capital improvement projects for the next five years relate to sanitary sewer projects, and there is uncertainty about future regulatory requirements.

Orchowski said that the EPA’s consent order against all 81 municipalities in Allegheny County was “truly an unfunded mandate.”

The board voted unanimously to accept the recommended five-year capital improvement program for 2016-2020. The entire plan can be reviewed on the township’s website at www.twpusc.org/finance/finance-home.

In other business, the board accepted a request to continue the public hearing regarding the CVS Pharmacy unified and conditional use and preliminary land development approval to Sept. 8. CVS plans to build a new facility at the corner of Fort Couch and Washington roads.

The board also approved entering into a contract with Cargill, Inc. for the purchase of rock salt for 2015-2016. Cargill’s price of $69.29 per ton is $10 a ton less than last year. The township typically uses about 6,500 tons of salt each winter, which should save the municipality about $65,000.