Dec 4, 2018 By Terry Kish for The Almanac writer@thealmanac.Net 2 min read

Upper St. Clair Township has not had a tax increase since 2010, and 2019 will be no exception, as the commissioners voted to adopt the municipality’s budget during their Dec. 3 regular meeting.

The $22 million general fund budget holds the real estate tax rate at 3.83 mills and the earned income tax rate at 0.80 percent.

Real estate and earned income taxes make up approximately 79 percent of the budget. EIT revenue has increased 2.15 percent over the past nine years and is estimated to grow by 1.75 percent in 2019.

Expenditures are up 1.87 percent from the 2018 budget, with operating expenses increasing 3.41 percent. Refuse and recycling costs increase in 2019 by $184,000, a 14.7 percent increase. Health insurance will increase 6 percent and workers comp premiums increase 14.4 percent.

In 2019, wages for full time, non-contract employees increase 2.75 percent, police wages increase 2.25 percent, and public works wages increase 2.5 percent.

Expenditures in the C&RC fund include software updates, credit card processing, and marketing, and prioritizing and implementation of facility assessment recommendations.

Sanitary sewer expenditures include $1.5 million for source reduction work and $4.02 million for wastewater treatment. The ALCOSAN rates will be increasing 7 percent, but the township multiplier will go down in 2019, from 2.05 to 2.0.

Also included in the 2019 proposed budget are capital projects, including $1.7 million for road repairs, $500,00 for storm sewers, and two traffic signal projects in conjunction with PennDOT, one at Route 19 and Boyce Road, and one at Route 19 and Old Washington Road.

At the same meeting, the board voted to grant conditional use approval for Crossroads United Methodist Church at 1120 Boyce Road, and to grant amended tentative and final approval of Boyce Plaza Complex planned office and hospital center at 2575 Boyce Plaza Road.