Officials OK no-tax-hike 2018 budget

WEST CHESTER » The Chester County commissioners recently approved a plan that may see more money going into the pockets of non-union county employees.

Acting as the county Salary Board, the three commissioners voted to increase the range of salaries by 2 percent beginning next year. Also voting in favor of the increase was Carole Pollitz, the county’s deputy controller.

The move does not automatically increase pay for the nonunion employees, with the exception of those who now make less

than what the salary range will be when the 2 percent increased is instituted. Salary increases could come early next year, however the commissioners may decide to make them part of the employees’ annual performance review, county Chief Operating Officer Mark Rupsis said.

For now, a hypothetical county clerk making $100 a week, the minimum for their position, would see their salary bumped up to $102, for example. The hypothetical range would increase from a minimum of $102 a week to $510 a week.

The vote, which came without comment Dec. 6, followed the commissioners adoption of the 2018 general budget, which contains $526.1 million in expenses and revenues. The budget maintains the county’s current real estate tax rate of 4.369 mills. A mill is worth $36.7 million, or $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value. That is expected to equal a median tax payment by property owners of $729.40 on property whose assessed value is $166,950.

The millage package is broken down into four separate categories: 2.876 mills for the general fund expenditures;

1.222 mills for debt service; .184 mill for library expenditures; and .087 for parks. The debt service millage goes to pay for bonds that were taken out to pay for capital expenses such as building construction and open space preservation.

The county’s budget includes a decrease in spending of 5 percent, with drops coming in the level of both general fund expenses (the courts, county prison, public safety, human services, parks, etc.) — from $467 million to $465.5 million — and capital spending — from $87.5 to $60.6 million.

In presenting the budget last month, Rupsis stressed, as county officials have in the past, that not only is the property tax rate in the county among the lowest in the region, but that its financial stability remains strong. The county has maintained a top rating from each of the three most prominent bond rating services in the country, and will continue to do so, he said.

“The county is in excellent financial shape,” he said in response to a question about its health Thursday. “We have never overspent our budget in the years that I’ve been in the county. Those are the facts.”

The 2018 priorities that Rupsis pointed to for the coming year include the continuing development of the county’s Landscape3 effort — the land use planning document that sets the tone for urban, suburban, and economic development over the coming 10 years. That plan is expected to be adopted in late 2018 after public comment and steering committee input is complete.

Adding to the county’s new expenses will be the operation of the firing range at its Public Safety Training Facility. The range will be finished construction next month and will formally open in January. Rupsis said the costs of running the range would be about $350,000 a year.

Other costs that Rupsis said would add to the budget include an increase in spending on health care insurance for employees, which makes up for about 15 percent of all personnel costs. The net increase is expected to be $1.3 million, or 5.6 percent — from $24.1 million to $25.5 million.

He noted that the biggest portion of the county’s revenue package comes from state and federal grants, about 41 percent, versus real estate taxes and departmental earnings. Those funds are expected to drop against next year, falling from $200.8 million to $191.9 million. On the expense side, human services and the courts make up the largest slices of departmental spending, at 58 percent, followed by debt service on capital projects such as the training center and the county’s Justice Center.