Bristol Township’s preliminary 2015 budget does not include a tax increase. In fact, the budget actually includes an almost unnoticeable tax decrease.
The preliminary $68 million budget presented last Thursday night includes a tax decrease of .0075.
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The decrease is something Township Manager Bill McCauley has wanted to do since he started several years ago.
“The fact that Bristol Township had a millage rate with four decimal points has bothered me every day I have worked here, much like a crooked picture that you pass by on a wall. This was simply a constant reminder of the past management of the township prior to 2012,” he said in a letter.
Due to the small decrease, the average homeowner in Bristol Township will pay roughly $430 in local property taxes.
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McCauley said the new budget also does not include any fee increases. Streetlight costs remain the same along with the .5 percent earned income tax (EIT.)
Despite having what McCauley calls “another success story in the resurgence and rehabilitation of Bristol Township finances,” he is the first to admit the township has a long way to go. He added that township finances need more work and help from the Pennsylvania and federal governments.
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Some of the problems the township faces are revenues remaining mostly stagnant, the cost of a pay increase for police and rising pension contributions. The township also lost $200,000 this year due to Middletown instituting their own .5 percent increase.
McCauley blamed some of the township’s financial problems on previous councils.
The preliminary budget includes $5 million for continuation of the township’s milling and paving project, $3 million for ongoing renovations at the township building on Bath Road and $ 1 million for upgrades and improvements at the public works facility. McCauley said the improvements to the public works facility should transform the current “eyesore” into “something special.”
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The proposed spending plan also includes $6 million for improvements to the township’s wastewater treatment plant. The money will pay for a water clarifier to provide additional capacity and end the current sewer moratorium, McCauley said.
Each of the township’s five fire companies will each receive $20,000 grants to purchase capital equipment. McCauley credited council member Joe Glasson for lobbying on behalf of the volunteers.
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McCauley called for the Bucks County Commissioners to approve a countywide reassessment. He notes the last reassessment was performed in Bucks County in 1973, while other area counties have performed them more recently.
The township manager commended the council “for your courage to make extremely powerful and difficult decisions to required to” restore finances.
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Over the past five years, the township has had to make cuts to staffing as it has dealt with financial troubles.
Council President Bob Lewis said he was “proud to present a budget that is balanced.”
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The council is set to vote on the budget at their December 18 meeting.
Click to access 2015%20MANAGER%27S%20RECOMMENDED%20BUDGET.pdf
