No Tax Increase in 2017 State College Budget

State College Borough Council on Monday unanimously adopted the borough’s 2017 budget, which includes no real estate tax increase.

Total expenditures in the budget after interfund transfers are $48,594,329.

With no increase, the borough’s real estate tax rate remains 16.40 mills. The borough had raised the rate by 2 mills in the 2016 budget. Penalty and discount rates remain the same.

Millage rates also stay unchanged for the ninth year for properties in the Downtown State College Improvement District. An estimated $331,571 will be generated from assessments of 386 properties within the district to support services provided by DSCID.

Council also approved the University Area Joint Authority’s 3.7 percent increase in the sewer tapping fee for new lines. The borough’s portion of the fee remains unchanged. The total residential tapping fee, including the borough and UAJA portions, changes from $7,404.00 to $7,583.00.

The general fund is balanced with recurring revenues of $27,627,810, an allocation of $331 from unreserved fund balance and an allocation of $271,761 from insurance reserves against $27,628,141 in expenditures. The allocation from insurance reserves will smooth the borough’s health insurance premium increase for 2017. Health care costs for the borough are expected to rise 14.2 percent in 2017.

The budget allocates $1.56 million for the borough’s share of the Centre Region Council of Government’s 2017 budget and $132,428 for the Centre Area Transportation Authority.

Seventeen capital improvement projects totaling $6.4 million are funded in the 2017 budget, including $1.15 million for street reconstruction and $1.9 million for Pugh Street Garage improvements.

The borough’s budget performed well in 2016, with general fund revenue exceeding expenditures by about $3 million. Dwight Miller, financial services manager, said personnel expenses were down $565,106 from 2015.

‘The majority of that has to do with the vacancies we had in the police department and corresponding benefits related to those vacancies,’ Miller said. ‘We saved a considerable amount in personnel costs, not because we wanted to but because of the vacancies and retirements in the police department.’

AFSCME Contract

Council ratified a four-year collective bargaining agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 83, Local 1203 for public works union employees, effective Jan. 1. The agreement includes 2.75 percent pay increases for 2017 and 2018 and 2.5 percent for 2019 and 2020.

SCASD Zoning

A public hearing was scheduled for Feb. 6 to review a proposed zoning amendment related to the State College Area School District’s plans to make renovations and additions at Corl Street Elementary and Radio Park Elementary, both of which are located in the borough and zoned R-2.

The design teams for the school projects identified several challenges in the zoning ordinance to complete construction. The district is asking for amendments to address four issues:: Reducing the front yard setback from 40 to 30 feet, Increasing building coverage from 20 to 30 percent;  Decreasing open space from 50 to 45 percent; Exempting the Radio Park property from the Flood Plain Conservation District.