Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Westchester reports $5.1M general fund balance, readies public for budget talks
Summary
Borough Manager Sean Metrick told council the 2024 audit shows a $5.1 million general fund balance and outlined a budget schedule that begins with department presentations in September and detailed work in October; he highlighted customer service, parks maintenance and staff training as priorities.
Borough Manager Sean Metrick reported at the July 15 Westchester Borough Council meeting that the borough ended 2024 with a general fund balance of $5,100,000, equivalent to more than two months of operating expenditures, and previewed the schedule for the 2026 budget process. "And it is the season where we start thinking about the budget," Metrick said, adding that department heads will present operational and capital goals at September committee meetings and the borough will work through details in October. The council must adopt a preliminary budget and schedule a public hearing before the November meeting, when adoption or continuation to December is possible.
The manager framed three budget objectives for the coming year: improving customer service, increasing maintenance of parks and open spaces, and expanding training for administrative and public works staff. He told council the borough’s recent financial performance reflects four straight years of positive outcomes in the general fund and gains in the parking and wastewater funds. "We are at a moment where we've established practices and we have a track record now that says we are managing our finances responsibly," Metrick said.
Metrick noted the borough’s operating scale — roughly a $22,000,000 general fund budget and moving about $1,820,000 a month — to explain why liquidity is important and why stable reserves matter. He also described a capital operating reserve funded decades ago by proceeds from the sale of the water system (to Aqua Pennsylvania, circa 1990) and said that reserve has grown since 2020 because the borough has avoided frequent draws and benefited from higher interest rates on short-term investments.
Council members asked how many months of expenditures the reserve covers; Metrick replied the 2024 balance exceeds the two-month minimum commonly used as a municipal financial-health benchmark. He also said the borough no longer takes short-term "swing" loans to cover early-year payroll as it had in the past. Several council members praised the finance team for the turnaround and the clarity the audited, accrual-basis statements provide.
The manager emphasized that the September committee meetings will be the first public opportunity to hear department-level project narratives and to question staffing and capital needs; he said definitive numbers generally arrive in October. The council directed staff to proceed with the published calendar and prepare the preliminary budget presentation for the September business meeting.
