West Chester tax budget reflects big projects coming to the township

Jul. 17--The West Chester Twp. trustees recently approved a $71.8 million tax budget for next year that includes big ticket items like the diverging diamond interchange under construction at Union Centre Boulevard and negotiating new union contracts.

The tax budget is the initial foray into crafting spending plans for the coming year and doesn't always represent what the township will actually end up spending. The appropriation budget with more fine-tuned expenditure plans will be passed later.

The township projected revenues in all funds next year to reach $56.1 million but to start the year Finance Director Ken Keim is anticipating a carryover in all funds of $115.2 million. He said at this early stage in financial planning he wants to make sure there aren't any unpleasant surprises.

"We like having that pessimism with the expenses and having the pessimism in the revenues at this point," he said. "That way we don't caught short when more, better data becomes available. We want to have favorable variances, not unfavorable variances."

The general fund is the main fund for the township and expenditures are projected at $7.5 million and revenues $5.5 million, Keim expects to have $11.2 million in the bank to make up the difference.

The biggest budgets are always for safety services but there are two voted levies to cover those costs. The police budget stands at $17.5 million and fire and emergency medical services were pencilled in at $16.5 million. To illustrate Keim's point, while the police budget stays pretty steady year-to-year, actual expenditures last year only reached $13.9 million.

There is a new wrinkle for next year however, both police and fire will be negotiating new union contracts. Trustee Board President Mark Welch recalled the last negotiations when a conciliator gave the police officers and their supervisors everything they wanted.

"The last time we did an agreement it went to conciliation and in the words of (law director) Don Crain he said 'look we're a victim of our success'," Welch said. "These guys are getting more of what they've asked for because the conciliator says 'hey you can afford it, why hold back'."

Because police cannot strike, when contract talks reach an impasse and a fact-finder's recommendations aren't agreed upon, the contract goes to a conciliator for the final decision.

The biggest single ticket item for next year also holds that distinction this year. Work began on the massive Union Centre Boulevard remake earlier this year after the trustees agreed to pay $20 million for the diverging diamond interchange over Interstate 75.

The township is paying $6 million in cash and sold $14 million in TIF-backed bonds to pay for the project, that came in about $6 million over estimates.

Another TIF is paying for the new Fire Station 73 project. Early estimates for the replacement station are $3.5 million and Keim is recommending using TIF cash for the replacement structure on Duff Drive.

"That's what TIF is for, it's to help with the infrastructure to encourage development," Welch said.

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