Bristol Township Council is slated to vote on a budget next month that would keep the tax rate steady.
The township has introduced a $68.1 million budget that features a $2.1 million decrease over the proposed 2019 spending plan.
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The 23.98 millage rate will stick, and the average homeowner will pay $428.69 in property taxes. Bristol Township’s municipal taxes last increased in 2010. In 2013 and 2014, taxes saw a slight decrease.
Township Manager Bill McCauley, who is expected to leave the municipality within weeks, said the budget “provides funding to expand township services without raising any taxes, refuse fees, or sewer fees. The budgeting process featured objectives of growing the tax base, avoiding a tax hike, reduce traffic congestion while improving safety, invest in infrastructure, and live within existing revenue streams.”
The largest expenditure for the township is $15.4 million for the police department, a one percent increase over 2019.
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The budget puts $2 million into the milling and paving program; $1 million for curb ramp replacement; $4.5 million for upgrades to the wastewater treatment plan, sewer pump stations, and collection system; $1 million for the ongoing township gateway improvement work; $1.5 million for traffic signal upgrades; $2.5 million for a potential new community/senior center; $175,000 in grants to volunteer fire companies; $1 million for an overhaul of JFK Park on Snowden Avenue; and $400,000 for the blight program.
The township is projecting a slight increases in tax revenue in 2020.
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McCauley pointed to the township’s under-construction recreation area at the Municipal Complex and repair of the Wistar Road bridge as highlights of 2019. He also highlighted the $317 refuse fee, which is the lowest in Bucks County, while pointing to the fact Bristol Township has seen a 72 percent increase in recycling since the waste contract with Waste Management began in 2014.
“The secret to the township’s financial success has been the development of fiscal discipline in an organization where absolutely none existed prior to 2012,” McCauley said.
Bristol Township Council is expected to vote for the budget at their Thursday, December 19 meeting.
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