3 Percent Tax Hike for Radnor

By a 5-2 vote, the Radnor Board of Commissioners approved the 2012 township budget at Monday night's regular meeting.

The budget includes a millage increase of .11 mills, which amounts to a 3.02 percent hike in residential real estate taxes, but prescribes a 4 percent decrease in expenditures from the 2011 forecast. In total, the budget calls for the collection of $34,873,547 in revenues against $34,816,283 in expenses.

"I'm really satisfied with this budget," said Ward 4 commissioner Elaine Schaefer. "I think the revenue projections are conservative, and that's a great way to move forward...and hopefully we'll end up with a surplus at the end of the year."

Board president John Fisher called it a work of art. "A lot of due diligence and craft went into it," he added.

Commissioners Donald Curley and Kevin Higgins voted against it, citing the tax hike as unnecessary.

"[The millage increase] could have been zero," said Curley, explaining his opposition of what will amount to an tax increase of under $41.42 for over 88 percent of the township.

The budget also instituted a 3 percent wage increase for all township employees—minus manager Robert Zienkowski and hires still in their probationary period—and set the sewer service charge at $5.74 per 1,000 gallons of water used. It also included Delaware County's assessed value totals for township real estate, which, increased approximately $21.5 million from 2011 and now stands at $3,146,412,894.

The expense reduction from the previous year was driven by a $2.21 million reduction in capital outlay, while the dip in projected revenue (one that was characterized twice as "conservative") was a function of the township's loss of Local Service Tax Revenue from Radnor School District. The net estimate of the revenue loss is $903,846.

Though the budget has a projected surplus, it didn't include liabilities like the Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) of future retirees (the 2012 budget included it as "pay as you go funding"), compensated absence (this liability, which cost approximately $4.5 million in 2010, wasn't budgeted for and will be paid for out of cash reserves), aspects of pension funding, and insufficient capital funding.

In a post-budget vote, the board approved a two-year fund balance distribution policy for the general fund excess the township carried over from 2011. (The excess owed to unexpectedly high revenues from business taxes.) 50 percent of the final excess from 2011, as well as any extra moneys from 2012, will address compensated absence liabilities, 30 percent will tackle capital funding, and the final 20 percent will be split between OPEB and pension liabilities.

Check back with Radnor Patch throughout the week for continuing coverage of the township budget and what it means for you.