Crafton budget workshop prioritizes security upgrades and sewer repairs; no tax increase proposed

At a Crafton Borough budget workshop on Oct. 23, staff presented updated fund balances and a draft budget that calls for no tax increase and prioritizes security upgrades, sewer repairs and a slate of capital maintenance projects.

The presentation, given by a borough staff member responsible for finance and budget planning, laid out draft 2025 numbers: a general fund near $6.8 million, a bond fund around $8.0 million and a SOAR fund at about $2.9 million. Staff also reported the road fund had dropped to roughly $407,000 under current assumptions. The presenter told the group the bond fund has been shrinking as projects come in and that the borough has applied for additional grant funding related to a previously rescinded award.

Why it matters: the workshop set priorities that will shape the coming budget ordinance and capital plan. Staff signaled the borough will propose keeping the current 8.59 mills in the general fund for 2025, and recommended using bond proceeds and grant opportunities to cover several security and capital needs rather than raising taxes.

Most important decisions and analysis

Taxes and fund posture: Workshop participants expressed consensus to keep the millage at the current 8.59 rate and to retain those receipts in the general fund rather than shifting them to a road-specific levy. Staff said the borough’s lack of frequent property reassessments has kept real tax growth low and described the situation as making taxes harder for new investors; staff added Crafton has not had a reassessment in 13 years.

Security and facility upgrades: Staff recommended a set of security improvements for police and borough facilities and proposed funding most of those from the bond fund once projects are completed. Specific items discussed: - New tables and chairs for the community center, estimated at about $12,000. - A squad-room exterior entry door and camera coverage of the Public Works/Police facility; the presenter gave an estimate for the Public Works building camera work of $17,312 and said the borough would use bond funds for those items when the building is complete (expected late November, depending on utilities). - A value-engineered package for door controls and cameras across the borough campus estimated at about $29,050 to place all doors on a single access-control system. - Park cameras (Linden, Noble and Crafton Park) estimated roughly $34,000–$35,000, and higher-cost license-plate-reader options covering multiple locations that staff recommended deferring from the 2026 budget unless grant funding is found. Staff said the license-plate reader plan as scoped (nine locations with two or more cameras each) would be significantly more expensive and recommended starting smaller or seeking grants.

Public-safety context: The police chief (identified in the workshop only by title) described safety and operational reasons for the squad-room door and camera upgrades, including reducing wear on the garage door used as the primary entrance and providing a keyed, automated entry that can lock reliably and improve officer safety.

Sewer and road work: Staff reported about $695,000 in sewer repairs identified by recent CCTV (camera) inspections and recommended budgeting roughly $300,000 (the draft line item in the budget stood at $280,000) toward high-priority excavation and manhole-to-manhole liner repairs. For roads, the workshop reiterated previously discussed choices: treating two of the borough’s worst roads at an estimated $65,000, budgeting $100,000 for brick repairs and awaiting a Gateway cost estimate (about $100,000) for an additional road-repair scope. Staff said those road items will come from the road fund.

Parks, pool and community items: Participants reviewed several maintenance and event items: - The pool liner has shown deterioration (water getting under the liner) and a full replacement estimate was discussed in the workshop; a participant referenced an $80,000 figure reported by a vendor (Kletta) but staff said warranty coverage was not available and that the borough would confirm warranty status. Staff said they expect to have an inspection update at the first November meeting. - The borough’s planned fireworks budget was discussed; the existing fireworks allocation of $15,000 would remain in the plan and councilmembers preferred using sponsorships or reallocated event funds to expand the celebration rather than increasing the fireworks line item in the municipal budget. - Other smaller items discussed and given yes/maybe/no indications for budgeting included a dog park (~$25,000), a skid-steer brush attachment to help clear gravel after heavy rains, community-center flooring and carpet replacements, a new HVAC unit for the administrative side (estimated $20,000), and an entry door/visibility improvement for the library/children’s area (staff estimated a low-cost in-house solution once detailed work is scoped).

Stage roof and performing arts facility: The borough discussed reroofing options for its stage and adjoining structures. Estimates presented: about $10,000 to replace the stage roof alone and about $30,000 to replace the entire structure’s roof. Workshop participants leaned toward approving the stage roof repair this year while postponing a full-roof replacement pending sponsorship or additional funding.

Decision process and next steps: The workshop used a “yes/maybe/no” preference exercise to prioritize items; no formal roll-call votes were recorded during this workshop. Staff said they would update the budget-planning document and the bond/project tracking sheet to reflect the preferences made during the session and circulate the revised spreadsheets to council members before the next meeting (about three weeks away). Staff also said they expected to receive updated vendor quotes for several items (doors/cameras, pool inspection, stage bids) and to confirm grant applications that may offset proposed costs.

Speakers and attribution - Budget presenter — Staff member (finance/budget presenter) (identified in transcript only as a staff presenter). Provided the fund updates and cost estimates and guided the decision exercise. - Councilmember — Elected official/council participant (identified only as a council participant in the transcript). Participated in yes/maybe/no preference statements. - Police chief — Borough police chief (identified only by title). Discussed safety and certification reasons for door and camera upgrades. - Public Works staff (Dave) — Public Works staff member referenced by first name in the discussion about maintenance and installation tasks. - Recreation representative / CPAA participant — Representative involved in programming and the performing-arts venue (referred to during stage and event discussions). - Jeff — Business proprietor of Gibson (identified by first name when staff summarized vendor willingness to provide last year’s show level for the same price). - Kletta — Vendor or staff referenced in pool-liner discussion (identified by surname in the transcript). - Larry — Staff or contractor referenced by first name in brick/road planning. - Matt, John, Colton — Meeting participants referenced by first name; Colton was noted absent during the workshop.

Clarifying details - General fund (draft 2025): approximately $6,800,000 (presenter’s estimate). - Bond fund (draft): approximately $8,000,000; bond fund balance will decline as projects are executed. - SOAR fund: approximately $2,900,000. - Road fund (draft): about $407,000 after recommended allocations. - Total committed/complete projects on the bond tracking sheet: roughly $1,269,000; after proposed projects and awards that number was described as moving toward about $968,000. - Community-center tables/chairs: ≈ $12,000. - Public Works building camera estimate cited: $17,312. - Borough campus door-control/camera package: ≈ $29,050 (value-engineered option sought). - Park cameras: ≈ $34,000–$35,000. - License-plate-reader plan (9 locations x multiple cameras): described as substantially more expensive; staff recommended deferring in 2026 and pursuing grants or a reduced scope. - Pool-liner replacement: vendor figure reported around $80,000; warranty status described as out of warranty but staff to confirm. - Sewer repairs identified by CCTV: total identified ≈ $695,000; staff recommended budgeting ≈ $300,000 (line item shown at $280,000 in the draft). - Brick repair budget: $100,000 for near-term repairs and planning a five-year program. - Two worst roads treatment estimate: ≈ $65,000. - Stage roof: stage-only ≈ $10,000; full roof ≈ $30,000.

Community relevance and next steps: Staff said it will re-run the budget spreadsheet to incorporate the workshop’s yes/maybe/no priorities, seek updated vendor quotes and grant opportunities, and circulate a revised package to council members ahead of the next meeting where the council will refine and, if needed, formally adopt budget items.

Ending: Staff will circulate updated fund and project-tracking spreadsheets after incorporating the workshop’s direction; several larger items (sewer repairs, stage roof, camera/door packages) will require follow-up vendor quotes and possible grant applications before final inclusion in the 2025 budget.