Monroeville presents $45 million five-year capital plan, proposes $10 million MS4 building; no new taxes or debt

Mr. Graziani, a council member, presented Monroeville’s proposed five-year capital improvement program to council and residents on Tuesday, saying the plan would be funded from existing resources and would require “no new debt and no new taxes.”

He said the five-year program carries a roughly $45,000,000 price tag across the planning window and is “fully funded this year and fully funded next year,” while later years are partially funded and depend on grants or future decisions. The presentation included a proposal to design and build an MS4 (stormwater) operations building with a budget placeholder of $10,000,000.

The proposal’s nut graf: the borough’s finance and operations staff modeled revenues and expenditures through 2031 to preserve a target general-fund balance and to address deferred capital needs. Graziani said the plan is intended to draw down excess reserves accumulated over prior years while maintaining a prudential fund-balance floor of about 20 percent going into 2031.

In his remarks, Graziani laid out how staff used AccuFund to inventory capital assets and to project replacement timing for fleet, buildings and infrastructure. Finance staff member Josie told council that moving capital assets into AccuFund was a major step that will allow depreciation and clearer long‑range planning. Public works director Mr. Hugus and parks director Paul participated in Q&A about lifecycle needs for roads, fleet and park facilities.

Key details and timelines included: - CIP total request: approximately $45,000,000 across the five‑year window presented. - Funding status: the plan is fully funded for the current year and next year; later years are shown as partly funded (the presentation estimated approximately 72 percent of the five‑year total as currently funded) and could be supplemented by grants, fee revenue or other financing choices. - MS4 building: the stormwater fund (MS4) holds substantial reserves, and Graziani proposed budgeting $10,000,000 to begin design and delivery of a dedicated MS4 building; the council will consider design work and potential borrowing if necessary. - Fund-balance target: staff modeled scenarios to reach a roughly 20 percent general-fund balance by Jan. 1, 2031; the plan phases larger purchases early to address deferred maintenance without creating new permanent debt service.

Graziani emphasized that some large projects discussed earlier — specifically a possible library expansion and the relocation or rebuild of the public-works facility — are not included in the five‑year total as presented. He also summarized how purchase of the convention center was funded from capital reserves and how hotel tax revenue (via Visit Monroeville/Prospera) will be used to match grants for convention‑center-related work rather than flow into the general fund.

Council discussed next steps: staff will advertise the ordinance to adopt the five‑year capital improvement program and hold a public hearing at the rescheduled citizens-night meeting on Aug. 7. Graziani and staff said councilmembers will have one‑on‑one briefings to consider adjustments before the August adoption vote.

No formal adoption vote occurred at Tuesday’s meeting; councilmembers moved to advertise the ordinance and schedule public comment ahead of final action.

The presentation and supporting materials (slide deck and a longer binder referenced at the meeting) are available on the borough’s website for review.