Nov 2, 2016 By Luke Campbell 5 min read

In the first time since the county-wide reassessment in 2012, Mt. Lebanon residents might be looking at a municipal tax increase to help fund a couple of major capital projects.

A bond issuance of $8.255 million was included in manager Keith McGill’s 2017 recommended budget released Nov. 1, which includes two major projects with significant financial ramifications the next fiscal year.

The first public hearing on the recommended budget was relatively quiet during the Nov. 7 meeting. Residents will have a second opportunity to comment on the commission’s proposed adjustments at the second public hearing Tuesday, Dec. 13, when the 2017 budget is also expected to be finalized.

The public works facility project and the ice rink renovations, which would solve the permafrost issue, are being recommended by McGill and would raise the property tax rate .25 mills to fund the municipality’s $32.1 million operating budget next year.

If the bond amount remains unchanged, and the commission approves the current recommended budget, residential property owners will pay $25 more per year for every $100,000 of assessed value on a property.

“Tax increases are never the easiest or most popular recommendation,” McGill said. “Unfortunately, they are a reality to be able to provide the core services to the community.”

A public works master plan was completed in December 2014 to identify ways to “improve the organization and functionality of the facility to meet the current and expected needs of the residents of municipality.”

“As a part of that study we were looking for that master plan to guide us over the next 10 years and for possible future expansion,” McGill said. “How do we make that site better overall because it serves every resident within the municipality. The study was basically the first piece of the puzzle that we’ve continued to look over for the past two years and refine what came out of it to get the best return for the investment we are making.”

It is the only municipal facility that has not seen a significant reinvestment over the last 30 years, following the expenditure in 2002 with the construction of the public safety center and the first floor public meeting space renovations at the municipal building in 2005.

Commission authorized McGill to retain PNC Capital Markets for underwriting services and Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote for bond counsel services. The municipality waited to do the bond issuance to keep the debt capacity below $10 million of tax-exempt bonds to be considered a bank qualified debt.

The loan is expected to be closed by the third week of February, according to Nicholas Falgione of PNC.

“It’s really the only vehicle we have for doing the cumulative projects,” finance director Andrew McCreery said. “People have come to expect the services in Mt. Lebanon to be second to none in the region. The community expects it and will see that we are prudently raising taxes to make these types of improvements.”

Another project also made possible with the changes at the public works facility is constructing an indoor shooting range at Mt. Lebanon Golf Course. The relocation of the full-size range will allow it to meet qualification and training requirements. It would also provide the opportunity to generate revenue through cooperative agreements with other departments and agencies, along with meeting the need of Mt. Lebanon School District that was removed as part of the high school renovation project.

“We referenced the fact that we would like to find and identify opportunities to resource share with the school district. It meets the needs of both the district and the municipality.”

Also meeting the need of both entities is the replacement of the studio and main ice rink at the nearly 40-year-old Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center, which is having issues with its defrost system. The project, beginning in March, is currently estimated to cost $1.715 million.

The estimated cost of the public works facility and relocating of the indoor shooting range is $6.385 million.

Another expense to the bond, which is recommended to be paid over 15 years, is a new pumper truck for the fire department, which will $575,000.

Open discussion workshop sessions will be held at 6 p.m. in the municipal building, 710 Washington Road, on Monday Nov. 14 and Wednesday, Nov. 16.

A public hearing on the manager’s proposed budget will be held at 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7, in commission chambers.

“Cumulatively, these are significant expenditures for us,” McGill said. “Given the fact that we have the capacity to do the borrowing with a favorable rate climate that’s the best financially responsible way to handle those projects. It’s the one that makes the most amount of sense. We could always look to reduce services but our residents have told us they want the level of our services to remain the same. It’s about what is in the best interest of the municipality as a whole.”