Borough spending forecast: no major increase / By Martha Knight

A 2015 budget totaling $2,025,735 is expected to be designated as the proposed budget for 2015, at the next Port Allegany Borough Council meeting. The total includes $376,716 in capital and reserves.

Based on that, millage would be only fractionally different from that which supported borough government and services this year.

In 2014 millage for support of the $694,371 General Fund budget has been 4.675. For street lighting, the tax rate was .39, while library support was .365 mill.

General Fund spending in 2015 is projected as $596,680.

Sewer department costs are expected to be $498,500,  down $1.072 from $499,572. Water service will run $630,579, up $109,179 from $521,400.

In 2014, millage designated for fire protection reached the one-mill target level requested by the Port Allegany Fire Department several years ago, so no tax increase for that is planned this time around.

PennDOT’s 2015 bridge replacement project on South Main Street will trigger relocation of some water lines, which could cost the borough around $155,000.

Some of the items on which the borough will spend money in 2015, with their proposed budget allocations, are auditing, $7,100; engineering, $17,500; lab fees, $14,000; telemetry, $3,800; travel and education, $5,050; property and liability insurance, $22,900; workers’ comp insurance, $32,742; public official liability insurance, $11,000; bonding, $75;

Also, electricity, $102,500; natural gas, $11,050; dues, $4,400; (public works) wages, $312,438; building inspector’s salary, $12,409; secretaries’ salaries, $60,000; borough manager’s salary, $55,000; police chief’s salary, $55,917; patrolmen’s wages, $90,915; part-time patrolmen’s wages, $30,237; police overtime, $13,000;

Also, hospitalization coverage, $77,597; hospitalization stipend, $19,800; life insurance, $4,552; hospitalization HRA, $18,000; pension $115,978; FICA, $48,849; vehicle fuel, $20,650; and chemicals, $62,000.

Costs for some of the items are spread among the borough general fund (largely tax supported) and the water fund and sewer fund. The latter funds’ revenues come from user fees, for which customers are billed quarterly.

The new contract with members of the borough public works crew (non-uniformed employees) calls for those employees to contribute to their pension plans, reducing borough pension costs.