No tax change in draft budget

Shortfall to be made up from unspent 2017 funds

Talks have begun on the 2018 draft budget for North Wales, and the news is good for now, but big decisions are coming in the next few months.

“As of right now, the preliminary budget includes no millage increases” for property taxes, according to Borough Manager Christine Hart.

Hart gave a detailed budget presentation Tuesday night, going over the roughly $2 million in estimated revenues staff project will come in next year, the roughly $2.089 million in projected expenses, and the gap between the two, which Hart said will largely be filled by using surplus funds left unspent in the current year.

“The expenses that we budgeted for, but we didn’t spend in 2017 — a fifth police officer, a police clerk, purchase of a new police car that didn’t take place, that money isn’t really being left on the table, so to speak; it’s go-

ing to be in our fund balance, and is going to cover our deficit,” she said.

Year-to-year expenses will largely hold steady next year, but Hart told borough council members they’ll have several questions to consider throughout next year, including whether to put any money behind the borough’s “North Wales 2040” comprehensive update when it’s finished next spring.

“We have not been able to fund or implement a comprehensive plan in almost 20 years. We’ve done bits and pieces, but have not been able to put a whole plan together,” she said.

Road repairs, sidewalk upgrades, and other improvements throughout the borough have all been discussed by an internal steering committee over the past year, Hart said, and the comprehensive plan

will make suggestions, but council will ultimately need to decide, where to spend and how much.

The borough will have to look long-term as it makes the final payments next year on long-term debt, according to the manager — several previous borrowings were consolidated into one long-term issue about five years ago, and her proposed 2018 budget would have the final payments of roughly $56,600 paid off early next year, about two years earlier than originally expected.

“With our debt paid off, going into 2018 we hope to be able to start our debt over again,” she said,

In addition to balances carried over from 2017, borough council could choose to draw on the roughly $2.86 million in reserves, the remainder that is left over from a roughly $3 million sale of the borough’s sewer system in 2008.

“Long term, this isn’t providing as much as we thought it would, but I’m

proud to say we’ve successfully invested these funds, and we’ve refrained from using the reserve fund,” Hart said.

Last year, council used roughly $350,000 from that reserve account to purchase a church building on Main Street, and Hart said the interest earnings from various short-term CDs where that fund is held add up to roughly $54,000 per year, and an additional $11,000 in new revenue was realized in 2017 from room rentals of the church itself.

Earned income and local services tax revenues both dipped slightly in 2017 compared to prior years, but were more than offset by an increase in real estate taxes that Hart attributed to new construction.

“We’ve had seven homes built in the last year-and-ahalf. We did have a tax increase last year, but that increase, I feel, is sustaining for this year” due to the higher revenues, she said.

Council members called attention to several specific line items throughout the budget, including the $45,000 included in the budget for legal services, largely from current Solicitor Greg Gifford. That amount has been held level for the past three years, Hart told council, but with three new council members taking seats in January, any switch in solicitors could carry extra costs.

“If they were to say ‘We want to appoint a solicitor that’s $450 an hour,’ I would have to say ‘Wait a

second, council: if you appoint that, it’s fine, but we’d need to reopen the budget,’” Hart said.

“And we’ve been there and done that a few times,” said councilman Mark Tarlecki, who chose not run for another term and will leave council in January.

Councilman Jim Sando pointed out that $3,700 was spent in 2017 on tree removal in several borough parks, and suggested that amount be increased next year due to possible damage from the emerald ash borer and spotted lantern fly, two invasive insects that have been spotted in and around North Wales.

“If I had to guess, I’d make it double that number,” said Councilman Jim Cherry, who said his tree removal business has already removed trees in North Wales where the spotted lanternfly has been seen.

“If you see it, smash it: kill as many as you can,” he said.

Budget talks will continue when council next meets on Nov. 28, and if council votes that night to publicly advertise a 2018 budget, a final version could be adopted during their Dec. 12 meeting, according to the manager.