North Wales plans 2025 budget with no tax increase

The financial plan for North Wales Borough for 2025 is now taking shape. Council members voted ahead a draft budget for 2025, with no tax increase and a long to-do list for the town to tackle.

“It’s the 7.0 mills which are being proposed, which is a zero tax increase — it’s the same as last year,” said borough Manager Christine Hart.

In late 2023 council approved a $9.4 million budget for 2024, with a one-mill tax increase, yielding a tax bill just over $907 or $75 a month for the town’s average resident with a property assessed at just over $129,000.

The 2025 edition of the budget keeps that millage the same, with total revenues and expenses balanced at just under $8.6 million, less than last year because of grant-funded work not included in the upcoming year, the manager told council.

“We are a government operation, so we only have limited sources as to where we’re able to generate revenue. We don’t have any public utilities such as sewer, water, or electric, so all of our revenues derive from taxes: real estate, earned income, transfer, or local services tax,” Hart said.

As she spoke, the manager showed a series of slides depicting the percentage each of those sources contributes to the budget, with 5.177 mills going to general fund expenses, 0.75 to debt service, 0.476 to the town’s highway improvement fund, 0.264 to the fire protection fund and 0.201 to the streetlight fund.

The general fund expenses in the 2025 budget are largely staff costs, the manager said: 56 percent of the general fund budget goes to police salaries and costs, 28 percent to administration including staff salaries and engineering costs, 14.6 percent to public works, and the remainder to legislative costs.

The major goals for 2025 include updating the town’s subdivision and land development ordinance, getting the town’s arts and cultural center on Main Street up and running, finishing an audit of the North Wales 2040 comprehensive plan that was adopted in 2018, continuing a sidewalk project along Center Street, and seeking a new energy contract for the town’s public buildings.

"If you've been keeping an eye and ear on energy, we may be seeing a huge increase" in that cost, Hart said.

Individual departmental goals are also spelled out in the budget presentation: police goals include added staffing to bring the department up to six fulltime and six part-time officers, up from the current numbers of five and two respectively; accomplishing accreditation status to match several surrounding departments, and sending officers for specialized classes and certifications in firearms instruction, field training, and more, according to police Chief Dave Erenius.

"We're hoping to have accreditation completed by April; that's when we're scheduled right now to have our initial assessment," the chief said. "They come in and basically tear everything apart, and go through everything you're doing — which is good, it makes sure you're up to standards."

    North Wales police Officers Colin Johnson, Terry Hammerstone, Juliana Greco and Chief Dave Erenius pose after Greco formally received her oath on Tuesday night, Feb. 14 2023. (Photo courtesy of NWPD)
  

Public Works goals for 2025 include road paving projects to be determined by the town's engineer via a street paving assessment currently underway, using a $360,000 state grant awarded in late October to procure new public works vehicles and equipment, and adding shade structures to the town's Wee Walers park where a tree was recently removed, the manager said.

Mayor Neil McDevitt asked if the recent dry spell meant any change in the town's mandates for pollution reduction in stormwater, and Hart said the weather has meant less sediment removal because of a lack of rainfall, but more work for public works crews cleaning inlets and doing other work instead.

Councilwoman Wendy McClure added another request, also related to the recent dry spell: could the town add rain barrels at town parks to provide water without utility lines? Hart answered that a rain barrel is already in place near the town's community garden at Fourth Street Park, and staff have recently set up a portable watering apparatus in a public works truck to hydrate other parks.

"They keep that in one truck now, during the watering season. They're able to be much more efficient, and get their watering done," she said.

    A sign indicates the sources of grant funding for newly constructed sidewalks along Center Street in North Wales, as seen on Tuesday April 26 2022.
 By Dan Sokil | The Reporter   

After outlining the breakdown by department, she then reviewed changes made since the first budget presentation in October, including a slight reduction in the cost-of-living salary increases for town employees, and changes to the projected investment income revenues due to a recent drop in interest rates. The borough's reserve fund — which started with $3 million from the sale of the town's sewer system to Upper Gwynedd in 2010 and part of which was used in 2016 to buy the former church now being converted into the arts and cultural center — currently stands at $3.39 million, and short-term investments are projected to yield about $60,000 in new revenue in the upcoming year, Hart said.

"If (interest rates) stay around 4.5 or 5 percent, we'll probably double that, but we're being conservative and anticipating what I know we'll have in the bank," she said.

Council President Sal Amato asked if those short-term funds would be automatically reinvested if and when interest rates drop, and Hart said those don't happen automatically, but staff regularly shop for the best rates among several local banks that hold reserves, and can ensure they meet Governmental Accounting Standards Board rules.

"We have to investigate the most prudent interest rate we can get, that meets the terms of GASB and the borough code," Hart said.

Several council members suggested minor changes to the format of the budget report, including a page break between revenues and expenses and more headers clarifying revenues against expenses, before council voted unanimously to advertise the budget for public input ahead of a possible vote to adopt it in December.

North Wales borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on Nov. 26 at the borough municipal building, 300 School Street. For more information visit www.NorthWalesBorough.org.

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