Butler council not planning to raise taxes in 2024
Butler City Council voted Tuesday, Nov. 21, to advertise a proposed 2024 budget, with expenditures totaling about $10.5 million, which is down compared to 2023’s budget, which totaled a projected $10,618,311. Council also voted to keep the tax rate the same as it is this year.
The council budgeted $635,000 in the liquid fuels tax fund, which is up from $569,000 in 2023; $73,000 in the capital projects fund, down from $340,500 in 2023; and $967,000 in the city parking fund, down from around $1 million in 2023.
Councilman Don Shearer said at the meeting some increased costs come from employee wage changes according to their contracts. Additionally, the 2024 budget doesn’t include any revenues from the sale of the Butler Area Sewer Authority to Pennsylvania American Water — even though the sale has been approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
“BASA didn’t play into this at all because we are not budgeting funds we don’t have yet,” Shearer said. “We don’t have much wiggle room as a city because our expenses and our revenues pretty much line up as it is.”
Before taking any action, the council had an executive decision with Jason Ross, a financial adviser from Relevate Business Advisors, whom council hired for $3,000 to help manage money from the expected BASA sale.
The city and Butler Township will split the proceeds from the about $230 million sale, following the payment of debts and liabilities. Throughout this year, City Council heard from financial advisers in search of a firm to help the city manage the money, and Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy said Ross will help in making that decision.
“He was able to go back to the four firms and just clarify some of these things so that they are all basing it on the same numbers,” he said. “Now we have a clearer picture that we can compare what this one is to that one to that one.”
Dandoy said council will have more talks on BASA in coming meetings, and the money from the sale will go into its own account once acquired.
Dandoy read a proclamation at the start of the meeting recognizing Nov. 25 as Small Business Saturday.
Local business owner Lance Calvert, who is also on the Butler Downtown board of directors, accepted the proclamation, which touted the number of jobs funded by small businesses and their impact on local economies.
“We try to get everybody out after Black Friday shopping, to shop small,” Calvert said.
