South Fayette Twp. ponders property tax increase in preliminary budget
The South Fayette commissioners met Nov. 16 to review the proposed 2017 draft budget that includes a slight tax increase.
The $10.8 million general operating budget would increase property taxes .23 mills, raising the rate to 4.48 mills.
The increase would allow for the hiring a new full-time police officer and full-time public works employee.
“We continue to grow as a growing community,” township Manager Ryan Eggleston said, “and as we continue to grow, there is obviously a larger demand on service. And I think both public works and police have done a good job, actually, a great job trying to manage with what we have.”
The increase means someone with a home assessed at $100,000 would pay an additional $23 in township property taxes annually.
The preliminary budget also allows for the hiring of two part-time receptionists and two part-time seasonal parks employees. Members of the board expressed some concern over the consideration of the part-time receptionists. Commissioner Lisa Malosh voiced support for hiring the additional police officer and public works employee, but was against the administrative positions. Commissioner Jessica Cardillo echoed her concerns.
“I don’t think any of us are in the mood to raise taxes two years in a row,” board President Joe Horowitz said.
The Board approved a motion to advertise the current draft budget with the increase in millage, but asked for more information and options that might fit the new police officer and public works employee into the 2017 budget without raising township taxes.
At the end of the budget discussion, Robert Milacci, president of the South Fayette Township Library Board, addressed the commissioners to request an increase in the library budget. Milacci told the board that per capita, South Fayette spends about $7.73 on library services, as compared to Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair, which Milacci says are in the $30-40 per capita range.
Milacci asked the board to find an additional $12,000 in the budget for the library, in an effort to give its employees raises.
“The increase in the administrative budget this year for the township is $127,000,” he said. “The increase is bigger than my total budget from the township.”
Township revenue for 2016 has surpassed the budget target, showing a year-to-date growth of 4 percent. The summary of financial trends for 2016 showed expenses to be in line with this year’s budget.
The commissioners also fielded comments from residents at Wednesday night’s meeting regarding closing the dog-run-free zone at Fairview Park. Dawn Jackson Smith, whose dog was attached by another off-leash dog at the park, asked them to consider a leash law to protect animals and people using the park. Debbie Amelio-Manion, secretary of the Parks and Recreation Board, agreed with Smith on the potential leash rule.
“It keeps everybody safe and people still get to exercise their dogs,” she said.
Options for moving the dog-run-free zone, only allowing dogs on leash or fencing in an area for dogs to run were discussed by the board with input from residents.
“We may be able to put it somewhere else, in a better place, in a different way,” Commissioner Cardillo said.
The commissioners unanimously voted to enact a leash law that will allow dogs to be in the park, so long as they’re kept on-leash.
Malosh said that she would like discussion of the dog-run-free zone to continue, however, and expressed hope that the residents could come together to find a solution that satisfied everyone.
“We owe it to each other as a community to listen,” Malosh said.
The township has also requested help from residents to identify streetlights that need to be updated to the new LED lights. Township Manager Eggleston asked resident who notice an old-style light to note the pole number and contact the township to coordinate its replacement.