Last month, the first draft of the proposed 2023 budget was distributed for review by elected officials and kicked off a series of budget discussions that will help shape and organize the community’s priorities for the coming year. This is an initial approach to the budget and is not, by any means, a final product. Rather, it is a starting point for everyone to engage in a productive conversation around the needs of our community, our internal departments, and the strategic direction of the borough that may require long-term investment.
Let’s start with a bit of good news: The initial draft of the budget does not include any tax increases for 2023. Based on our understanding of additional ARPA funds, added revenue through our sewer fund, and some decreases in capacity charges from the electric department, we are anticipating a balanced budget that does not require increasing millage in the borough.
In addition to a balanced budget, the initial draft of the budget allows for the possibility of hiring four new police officers and an additional two public works employees. As noted in prior musings, Lansdale has grown significantly over the last decade. With that population growth comes the need to expand our police department and our public works department to properly serve the community.
Over the last five years, we have been making progress on growing our police department to ensure we are meeting the proper ratio of residents to police; however, as retirements occur, we have only been able to grow the department by two officers over that period. This budget year would allow us to take a significant step forward in the hiring process and allow us to, ultimately, put more officers on the street for public service. Specifically, we would be looking to expand our traffic control patrols to help manage speeding across the community while we complete a comprehensive traffic management plan.
As you might suspect, with more population comes the need for more infrastructure repair and management. From a pure volume perspective, 18,000 people in the community has a sizable impact on our sidewalks, roadways, and other critical infrastructure. Public works has been implementing a long-term view of how to best manage these resources by establishing a pavement management plan that identifies when each road needs to be addressed. Obviously, there are always more projects than there is money available, and we are always trying to find ways to extend the life of our existing roadways. Adding staff to public works will allow the borough to address more of these “on the edge” projects across the borough and help us stay on schedule with our asset management plan.
Finally, the draft budget also provides for the continued partnership with Barth Consulting, who has taken on the challenge of helping fill vacant spaces on our Main Street as our de-facto Main Street Manager. This past year, in a test-and-learn approach, Barth Consulting was retained to help us organize, improve, and promote Lansdale’s downtown development and revitalization. Barth’s approach has certainly helped identify and connect businesses with property managers and we are anticipating the opening of several new businesses in the borough thanks to his help. As the area continues to improve in the “post-pandemic” era the partnership with Barth Consulting will allow us to continue to have a coordinated and strategic approach to growing our business community long into the future.
As noted at the beginning of this article, this is a draft version of the budget, and the first draft at that. There is plenty of time for changes, adaptations, and adjustments. However, the ability to expand two critical departments while also being able to invest in our revitalization without increasing taxes is certainly a good sign for our community. Investments in rebuilding, expanding, and revitalizing will help Lansdale continue to draw people to us and ensure we are a community that continues to move forward together.
(Mayoral Musings is a weekly op-ed column submitted to North Penn Now, courtesy of Lansdale Borough Mayor Garry Herbert. The views expressed are his own.)
See also:
Mayoral Musings: Residents to Receive Public Safety Survey in Coming Weeks
Mayoral Musings: A Busy Saturday on Deck for Lansdale
Mayoral Musings: New Businesses Coming to Lansdale
Mayoral Musings: Fall Fun and A New Lansdale Beer Garden
Mayoral Musings: Lansdale Train Station Takes its Place in History
