Penn Hills releases 2024 draft budget
Penn Hills has released its 2024 draft operating budget, with public hearings coming later this month.
The spending plan does not call for any tax increases or service cuts, but does reflect a return to normal revenue levels as pandemic-era stimulus funds dwindle.
The municipality projects to spend more than 96% of the $17.1 million it received in American Rescue Plan funds by the end of this year. The remaining $615,178 is marked for storm and sanitary sewer repairs in this latest budget, in accordance with federal deadlines to obligate the money by the end of 2024.
Stimulus funds are nearly at their end, but municipal officials don’t anticipate a return to pre-pandemic fiscal straits.
“With a $3.5 million fund balance at the end of 2019, the municipality was not positioned to weather a very big storm,” Penn Hills manager Scott Andrejchak said in his budget message. “I am pleased to report that the municipality of Penn Hills is on a much more positive financial footing and is prepared to meet the challenges of the future.”
By the end of 2022, Penn Hills’ fund balance had swelled to approximately $14.1 million. As a result of this improved outlook, Standard & Poor’s upgraded the municipality’s bond rating from A+ negative outlook to A+ stable outlook, according to Andrejchak.
Public budget hearings will be held on Nov. 20 and Nov. 27, both scheduled for 7 p.m. in council chambers. The first hearing coincides with the regularly scheduled monthly council meeting.
The hearings are not a “question and answer session,” but rather a chance for officials to “listen to people’s thoughts on the budget,” Andrejchak said. He encouraged residents to view the budget ahead of time online through the municipal website or Savvy Citizen app, and in person at the Penn Hills Library or administrative building at 102 Duff Road. The library also offers resources specifically about the basics of municipal finances.
Long-range expenditures, such as street reconstruction and recreation projects, are further described in the Five Year Capital Improvement Program, which Penn Hills must approve before the end of the year.
Jack Troy is a TribLive reporter covering the Freeport Area and Kiski Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on Penn Hills municipal affairs. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in January 2024 after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh. He can be reached at jtroy@triblive.com.
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