Bridgeville Council Passes 2011 Budget

 passed the 2011 municipal budget Monday night with no tax increases.

Council approved the $2.477 million operating budget by a 6-0 vote during its regular meeting and will keep property taxes at 6.75 mills. The borough expects to bring in about $1.298 million from real estate property taxes next year.

The highest expenditures in the budget are for police protection and public works.

The borough plans to spend about $775,000 on the police department, although the decision to retire the department's police K-9 unit could cut expenditures by about $10,000. The department's police dog, Addo, will stop being used at the end of the year because the animal is suffering from cancer on its leg. Council voted to end the K-9 unit because the dog is no longer able to work.

Bridgeville expects to spend about $556,000 on the public works department, which includes $76,000 for snow removal. The borough plans to spend another $362,000 next year on contracted garbage collection, although there was some discussion at Monday night's meeting about eventually purchasing garbage trucks and handling those services within the public works department.

An additional $1.072 million will be spent on the sewers fund and about $130,000 on various street-paving projects.

There are also plans in the spring to use $367,000 in state and federal grants for the Washington Avenue streetscape project. Part of that money would be used to fix the buckling sidewalks along the main business drag, which Arizona Sen. John McCain famously groused about on his Twitter page in 2009.

Borough Manager Lori Collins said they plan to replace the sidewalks and remove some of the trees along that stretch after the winter. She said they also would like to upgrade some of the crosswalks and streetlights in the area.

Depending on how much money remains, the borough would like to improve the fencing and facade of the bridge near Station Street, Collins said.

The entire 2011 budget can be viewed at the .

 Also during the meeting…

-Council has asked the borough's solicitor to draft an ordinance that would allow the placement of crosswalks and a four-way stop at Dewey Avenue and McMillen Street. Even though a traffic study has found the stop signs are not necessary, some on council are concerned about increased traffic in the area when the . Councilman William Colussy said he is opposed to the idea because it could reduce the number of parking spots for residents living on Dewey. Council agreed to send letters to all of the affected residents so they can offer input at next month's meeting. The final decision on whether to install the stop signs will not be made for several months.

-The borough has agreed to accept $100,000 from Mark Houmis' insurance carrier to repair the falling slop near his house at 827 Bower Hill Road. The borough will be able to use that money to remediate the slope, but it is likely they will have to spend thousands more to repair the damaged roadway, which has been closed for a couple of years. Many council members expressed regret in voting to accept the insurance settlement because they maintain the borough was not at fault for the falling slope near Houmis' home.

-Council accepted a bid of $81,975 from Meadville Land Service in Crawford County for the first phase of the McLaughlin Run stream restoration project.

-Councilman Jason Sarasnick did not attend the meeting.