Finance director reports about $27 million cash, $9 million reserve and $18.65 million in debt

Finance Director Barb Leonte told the West Chester Finance and Revenue Committee on Wednesday that the borough’s cash position as of May 31, 2025, included roughly $27 million in cash, a capital operating reserve of a little more than $9 million and long‑term debt totaling $18,654,000.

Leonte said the borough’s larger-than-expected interest earnings are driven by funds placed with the Pennsylvania Local Government Investment Trust (PLIGATE). “That’s money that we have been able to transfer over over the past few years, and that's where how we're beating our interest targets,” she said.

The report noted receipts and disbursements for the month and flagged $393,504 remaining in ARPA funds and about $333,000 allocated for the Gay Street project; Leonte said the Gay Street allocation was higher than the 2025 budgeted amount. She also described interfund reconciliations that reduced due-to/due-from balances and cited better-than-budgeted performance in several revenue lines, including business privilege and interest income.

Committee members pressed Leonte for context on reserves and debt servicing. “Do you know what we started? I guess, I'm gonna say, like, last year, roughly what that balance was in the reserve,” one committee member asked; Leonte estimated it had been in the “range of $8,000,000.” When asked whether the borough could finance a new public works garage, Leonte said, “I think that would be a a strong possibility,” but added it would require further analysis.

Leonte also walked members through recent check register entries. She said several checks were written to the borough for principal and interest related to parking and other debt service and that approximately $4 million of those funds were placed in PLIGATE “to be deposited in the general fund, sewer, parking and stream protection, to earn interest and meet our interest targets for 2025.”

The committee discussed budget risks and headwinds, including higher-than-expected capital project costs and the need for continued reconciliation and monitoring. Leonte identified debt and rising capital costs as primary headwinds and noted that tailwinds include higher interest earnings on reserve balances. She summarized: “Biggest issues that we're facing... revenues are coming in or and are meeting, expense expectations,” and emphasized that budgeted authority depends on actual receipts.

The committee did not adopt any new financing measures during the report; members asked staff to provide more detailed historical reserve numbers and to continue analyzing options should the borough pursue additional capital projects.