State College Borough Council voted unanimously Monday to approve a roughly $33.5 million spending plan for 2011.
The plan increases budgeted expenses by about $2.2 million over the 2010 budget. (The 2010 budget called for $31.3 million in spending, though the borough is expected to end the year with only $29.8 million in actual expenses. A year-end surplus of $1.62 million is anticipated.)
About $500,000 of the added spending in 2011 will go toward the police force, which plans to return its officer count from 61 — the current level — to its full authorized strength of 65. Other growing expenses in the borough include employee benefits (up 14 percent for 2011), debt service (up 14.5 percent) and capital projects.
Upcoming capital projects tentatively include a borough technology overhaul, improvements to Sidney Friedman Park and Fraser Street, and street-scape improvements in the West End neighborhood.
But the council found no unanimity over how to pay for the increased expenses. The borough’s no-increase tax plan for 2011 passed on a 6-1 vote Monday, with council member Peter Morris dissenting.
That plan will keep municipal tax rates unchanged next year, relying on some $700,000 in unallocated reserve and surplus funds to help keep the budget balanced. Morris said he opposes the use of one-time surplus funds to finance continuing operations, and that he would have preferred a modest tax increase to help keep pace with added spending.
Other council members have said they prefer to take a wait-and-see approach, particularly with respect to about $225,000 in relatively last-minute labor expenses for the police and public-works departments. Some council members have expressed optimism that perhaps staff retirements and shifts in other borough expenses will help offset and cover the added new costs in time.
In other news at the Monday council meeting, members heard from public-works Director Mark Whitfield about the borough Transportation Commission’s work agenda for 2011. The commission is planning to review the borough parking-meter system, especially evening enforcement practices and commuter zones, to see if any changes are necessary, Whitfield said.
In addition, he said, the commission will focus on community bicycle plans, including safety measures; the possibility of some fencing along Atherton Street between College and Beaver avenues, intended to keep pedestrians off the traffic lanes; and downtown traffic patterns.
In the downtown category, Whitfield said, the commission will examine whether making some cross streets — such as Allen and Pugh streets — into one-way arteries would be helpful. He suggested such a change may help improve pedestrian safety, though several council members appeared unenthusiastic about the idea.
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