Aspinwall residents will pay more in property taxes; surplus dedicated to infrastructure

Tawnya Panizzi | Thursday, January 3, 2019 8:44 a.m.

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Aspinwall council approved the 2019 budget, with additional money for the police chief’s salary.

Aspinwall council voted to increase property taxes this year in hopes of investing in borough infrastructure, leaders said.

Council approved the $2.6 million budget, raising the tax rate from 5.86 to 6.86 mills. The owner of home assessed at $100,000 will pay $686, an extra $100 over 2018.

“It was increased due to investing in (roads, sewers) and buildings,” Manager Melissa Lang said.

At least $100,000 is slated for road work, with particular attention paid to Delafield Road. That stretch was a flooding nightmare after last summer’s heavy storms.

The borough’s pubic works department spent days cleaning catch basins and sewers, and shoveling debris from Delafield Road to help alleviate the water. A section of the road near the Route 28 on-ramp crumbled under the pressure and will be targeted for replacement during this summer’s road paving program.

Lang said the new budget also includes a significant increase in the borough’s contribution to Foxwall EMS, whose leaders just about a year ago said service would suffer if donations weren’t increased.

Council voted to give $25,000 in tax dollars to Foxwall this year.

There is also $100,000 going toward a significant sewer project along Center Avenue, Lang said.

Work to separate sewers is scheduled to begin this year and cost $562,000, most of which will be paid for through a $477,000 ALCOSAN grant.

For a full look at the budget, visit the municipal office at 217 Commercial Ave.

Tawnya Panizzi is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tawnya at 412-782-2121, ext. 2, tpanizzi@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tawnyatrib.