Telford Borough Council Approves 2024 Budget with No Tax Increases

John Worthington | The Reporter•

The Telford Borough Council unanimously approved the borough’s 2024 budget with no tax increases.

The budget projects a total revenue of $3.76 million and total expenditures of $3.21 million, yielding a surplus of nearly $550,000. Council attributed the surplus to the sale of the old borough building, an open space grant from the Trinity UCC property and unspent American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

The budget notably increases the borough’s contribution to the Indian Valley Public Library from $45,000 to $60,000, reversing a funding cut made by council earlier this year to increase police funding. Wendy Leshinskie, the council’s liaison to the library, had requested additional funding due to rising material costs.

Library funding has been a point of contention in Telford over the past year with council members and residents sparring over allegations of inappropriate material in the children’s section and some council members campaigning to revoke the borough’s financial contribution to the library.

In other news, council approved the installation of recording equipment in council chambers to enable livestreaming of council meetings. The project’s total cost is $5,310, which includes a 4K high resolution automated camera and 12 omnidirectional microphones. Borough manager Kyle Detweiler said that the materials have not yet been delivered but that the physical installation should only take a few days.

Council also tabled for a second time a public meeting and attendance policy to add language that clarifies the term "resident” and allows borough business owners and customers of Telford Borough Authority to participate in public comment. Prior to the meeting, the policy was revised to remove language that discouraged recording members of the public due to community opposition.

On another note, council tabled a change to the fowl and small animal zoning ordinance due to a dispute over enclosure distance requirements from neighboring properties and concerns about potential violations of the Pennsylvania state code.

Council additionally tabled a resolution to join the Pennsylvania junior council person program, which allows high school students to gain experience in local government, on the agreement that the resolution will be voted on at the January meeting with the chosen candidate in attendance.

The next Telford Borough Council meeting is on January 8 at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit telfordborough.org.

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