Residents to Pay Less Under Introduced 2010 Budget

The average resident's tax bill for 2010 will drop by about $185 under a spending plan introduced at Monday night's Borough Council meeting.

The new budget marks the first calendar-year budget for the Borough, which switched away from a fiscal year last summer.

According to Councilman Ray Rusnak, who chairs the Council's Adminstration and Finance committee, nine positions are being eliminated under the plan, with possibly more to come.

Despite the reduced bills, Mayor Charles Butrico took issue with the notion that taxes are going down, stating that the tax levy increased over a million dollars since the fiscal year that ran from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. 

When asked, CFO/Administrator Glenn Cullen explained that it's not possible to compare the old fiscal year budget to the current budget, which operates on a calendar year.  This is especially true because the Council had a six-month "transition-year budget" stuck in between the two.  The transitional budget ran from July1, 2009 to December 31, 2010.  Cullen said that the introduced budget establishes a new "baseline."

As part of the introduction, Council President Matt Anesh appointed a three-member committee to examine the budget and look for further reductions.  In addition to himself, Anesh appointed Rusnak and Councilwoman Chrissy Buteas, a Democrat, to the panel. 

The introduction passed 5-1, with all four Republicans and Democratic Councilman Franky Salerno voting yes, and Buteas voting no.  The final adoption will take place in about a month.