Butler County municipalities receive over $8 million in liquid fuels funding
Boroughs, townships, and cities in Butler County received more than $8 million through the state’s Municipal Liquid Fuels Program this year.
For municipalities across Pennsylvania, the annual liquid fuels allocation is a key revenue source in each year’s budget, as the funds are often put aside for major infrastructure improvements.
Funds are redistributed from revenue collected from the state’s Liquid Fuels Tax to assist municipalities in paying for infrastructure projects. Butler County’s allocation of $8,183,915 is up slightly from the $8.16 million municipalities received in 2024. The list of allocations was released Thursday, March 6.
The amount of funds each municipality receives is based on a formula that takes into account population and the number of miles of public road that is eligible for reimbursement. Eligible roads must be at least 16 feet wide and be driven at a minimum of 15 miles per hour.
Cranberry Township — the most populous municipality in Butler County — had the highest allocation, receiving $1,004,515 based on a population of 33,096 and 128.14 miles of eligible road. Second was Butler Township, which received $601,390 for its 91.29 eligible miles of public road.
On the other hand, West Sunbury received the smallest liquid fuels allocation at $5,221 The borough only reported 0.61 miles of qualifying road and has a population of 182.
There are limits on the types of expenses municipal liquid fuels funds can be used for. Funds can be used for the maintenance, repair, or construction of public roads, streets and bridges; materials for construction of those structures; traffic control devices; and storage facilities for road salt.
“We use it for road deicing salt, street lighting and a contribution to road projects such as paving,” said Butler Township manager Tom Knights.
“Normally, we use our liquid fuels for our paving program as well as paving maintenance,” Kelly Maurer, Cranberry Township public works director, said.
This year, Cranberry Township also will use funds from the program to purchase “cape seal” treatment for certain roads in the northeast part of the township which still are in decent condition, Maurer added. The process consists of a chip-seal treatment followed by micro-surfacing and is intended to prolong the life of roads.
Maurer said the township puts between $600,000 and $650,000 into its paving program through its general budget annually. Once paving is done for the year, the township carries a small portion of its budget over to the next year.
“We do keep a percentage, and we do hold them for next year in case we would have a need for them,” Maurer said. “We leave 10% for any emergency repairs.”
