No tax hike in proposed 2025 Edgeworth budget
Share this post:
Edgeworth officials plan to hold the line on real estate property taxes next year.
Council voted 5-0 on Nov. 19 to advertise its proposed $3.355 million spending plan. Councilman Dan Wilson and councilwoman Beth Genter were absent.
Budget documents indicate the millage rate will remain at 4.5 mills.
Next year would be the 22nd year without a borough tax hike should the budget be formally adopted as-is.
A public hearing is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Dec. 17 to discuss the budget, followed by a council voting session at 7 p.m. at the borough building, 301 Beaver Road.
Expected income includes about $1.635 million in real property taxes; $1.346 million in local enabling taxes, including earned income and business privilege taxes; $79,000 in state shared revenues and entitlements; $60,500 in fund transfers, $40,000 in licenses and permits; $40,000 in interest earnings and $12,500 in fines.
Expected spending includes $968,000 for police; $451,000 for public works; $237,000 for solid waste collection; $222,000 for executive expenses, including administrative salaries and supplies; $108,000 for fire protection; $58,500 for legal services; $58,500 for municipal building and plant maintenance; $45,000 for tax collection; $17,000 for auditors; $16,500 for EMS; and $15,000 for engineering.
Borough manager Ellen Politi said council and the administration go over the budget thoroughly to make sure money isn’t spent lavishly.
“Council is pretty fiscally conservative, and they like to ensure that we provide a high level of service for our residents while ensuring no extra spending,” she said. “We assure to use the tax dollars as responsibly as we can.”
About $650,000 is budgeted for paving.
That is expected to cover the cost of repairing three or four roads. The list of streets has yet to be finalized.
Edgeworth has not had a paving program since 2022.
“We did sewer repairs the last couple of years,” Politi said. “We also have the Beaver Road wall project. We’ve been saving up for that, and that will be completed in mid-winter.
“All of our roads are pretty decent in Edgeworth. We just want to maintain our 10-year rotation for paving. Since we took a couple of years off, we’re budgeting a little bit more money in 2025 to catch up.”
The retaining wall is a significant repair project the borough had been planning for years. Access Limited Construction of Bethel Park, considered to be rockfall mitigation and steep slope specialists, was awarded $580,000 contract on Aug. 20.
A new sidewalk and handrail will be installed in addition to road stabilization and wall repairs. Some trees will also need to be removed and replanted.
A part of the wall had to be redesigned to allow for Verizon’s Fios cables. Bad weather may push the project completion to early spring.
Edgeworth received a $452,000 grant through the state Department of Community and Economic Development’s Local Share Account program to help pay for the project.
Council vice president Ivan Hofmann said the grant was one of the factors in staving off a tax increase in the coming year.
“That really helped our finances,” Hofmann said. “We knew that we had to be cautious there because we knew a lot of utilities run underneath Beaver Road,” he said. “It is a really dicey project. If that road would have caved and that wall would have given out, it would have cut off a lot of the phone service, maybe even electrical service. There’s a lot of lines going under there.”
About $50,000 is budgeted for a new police cruiser. An older vehicle is expected to be sold to help offset purchase costs.
The borough also budgeted $250,000 in capital project funds to expand its salt shed along Ohio River Boulevard to shelter more of its supply from the elements.
Hofmann said public works used tarps to cover salt and reduce losses due to rain. Edgeworth buys road salt through the South Hills Area Council of Governments.
Politi said salt capacity is 280 tons and the borough uses about 400 tons of salt in a typical winter. There currently is a salt surplus due to a light season.
Edgeworth plans to buy about 200 tons of salt for this winter. The final plans of the salt shed expansion have no been completed.
Other capital projects next year include $250,000 for sewer lining along Church Lane and $126,000 for exterior renovations at the borough building.
The capital projects fund is separate from the borough’s operational budget.