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Crafton budget workshop: bond fund drawn down; officials recommend holding real-estate millage at 8.59
Summary
Officials reviewed updated fund balances, recommended holding the borough real-estate millage at 8.59 mills for 2025 and using existing bond reserves for several capital items rather than raising taxes, while staff plans to pursue grant reimbursement for major projects.
Crafton Borough staff presented updated budget figures on Oct. 9, reporting the bond fund balance and recommending the borough keep its real-estate millage at 8.59 mills instead of raising taxes to add to the road fund.
The presentation said the bond fund is currently about $1,600,000 and — after committed projects — is expected to be roughly $1.4 million. “Were gonna recommend that we actually stay at that 8.59 mills,” presenter Jim Price said, explaining the borough will not add money to the road reserve this year and will draw from existing road-fund balances instead.
Why it matters: the recommendation aims to avoid a tax increase while continuing infrastructure work by using bond proceeds and pursuing reimbursement from outside grant programs for ongoing projects.
Key details
- Bond fund and reimbursements: Price said the bond fund currently stands at about $1.6 million and that staff expects to begin recouping grant reimbursements from the C-20 project over the coming months, possibly about $1.5 million within two months depending on pay applications. Price also said the borough will apply for reimbursement on the Broadhead project and expects that to raise available balances again.
- Projected fund balance: After commitments, Price estimated roughly $1.4 million would remain in the bond fund. He said receipt of Delusio grant money for Crafton Boulevard improvements in front of the school would reduce the bond balance further (Price estimated the balance could drop to about $1.15 million if those funds are used).
- Tax and road-fund policy: The finance committee and staff recommended holding the real-estate tax rate steady at 8.59 mills for the coming year, rather than increasing it to add to the road fund. Price said that posture, combined with drawing down road-fund balances, produces a balanced budget without a tax increase.
- Next steps and cashflow: Staff said it will file pay applications and grant paperwork to accelerate reimbursements and will return updated September fund numbers to the finance committee for more detailed review.
Discussion and caveats
Workshop discussion emphasized monitoring cash flow closely as pay applications and reimbursements arrive and advised keeping a buffer for change orders and unexpected costs on large infrastructure projects. Price noted two items not yet fully reflected in the bond tracking sheet: an anticipated interest payment of about $70,000 related to bond interest earnings and an expected higher-than-budgeted cost to run a hydrant line to a new building (discussed separately).
No formal vote was recorded at the workshop; staff presented recommendations for council consideration at a future public meeting.
