Bethel Park tax holds line under proposed budget
Municipal real estate taxes in Bethel Park should remain at 2.53 mills next year, based on a preliminary budget that council examined Monday.
The general fund budget stands at $24.5 million for 2017, a 2.6 percent increase over this year. The budget also includes separate funds for sewer, capital reserve, liquid fuels, transportation district and fire department. Combined, those funds total $46.2 million. Council is set to adopt the budget at the Nov. 14 regular meeting.
While most of the budget is set to see modest increases to spending next year, the sewer budget is set to grow by about 18 percent because of equipment upgrades to the sewage treatment plant scheduled for next year. State and federal environmental regulators have been requiring municipalities like Bethel Park to reduce sewer overflows, which can cause flooding and other issues. As a result, residents’ sewer bills will rise again, starting in July 2017.
Bethel Park’s largest source of revenue is from the earned income and net profits tax, a 0.9 percent levy on residents’ and businesses’ income. The municipality stands to get $8.6 million through earned income and $5.3 million from property taxes.
The largest expenditure is the police department, at $5.5 million. Bethel Park also spends $2.1 million on sanitation and $1.3 million on snow removal.
Long-term spending plans may include improvements in the municipal parks. Bethel Park conducted an assessment of its 13 parks to determine what improvements are needed. The municipality also surveyed residents on what improvements they think are needed. Council looked over the preliminary assessment at the Oct. 24 committee meeting.
“We haven’t done anything (at the parks) for a while, and there are things that need to be done,” said Councilwoman Lorrie Gibbons.
The parks assessment includes a list of possible improvements. One idea, to eliminate a small baseball field at Simmons Park to make room for other purposes, was met with some opposition from council. The assessment calls for using that area to install a splash pad to allow children to cool off in the summer. Councilman Mark O’Brien said he is hesitant to lose any of the municipality’s athletic fields, and he worries about the water costs for the splash pad.
That idea, though, might be lower priority than other improvements. Councilman Jim Hannan asked municipal workers to prioritize the list of improvements so that Bethel Park could establish a plan to address the needs over a five- to 10-year period.
“The next step is to figure out how do we prioritize it, how do we pay for it, and how do we get everything in place,” said Hannan.
Council also discussed sending a council member to the zoning hearing board meeting when it considers approving an illuminated entrance sign to the high school. Flashing LED signs are not permitted in the area where the high school is located. Council members said that granting a variance to Bethel Park School District might lead to nearby churches and businesses asking for similar signs, which could disturb nearby residents.