EAST BUTLER — Borough council is “separating” itself from East Butler Baseball Association after going months without a contract agreement between the borough and the association, which culminated in the association moving its operation to fields in Prospect.

Council President Kevin Hesidenz said at a council meeting Monday, Dec. 4 that council doesn’t consider the group as East Butler Baseball Association, and anyone looking to run an organization at the fields in East Butler can contact the borough.

“As of right now there is no East Butler baseball, it has been gone for a long time, we just had individuals running a baseball program up there,” Hesidenz said. “We offered them a contract where they could come up there and play baseball and not worry about anything else. This borough appointed them to run baseball — they didn’t want to work with the borough.”

Members of the association conducted an inventory of items at the fields at East Butler in early November, after borough council voted to ban members of the association from the fields. The group had already been locked out since August.

At the meeting Monday, council declined to give items the association claimed in inventory to the association, which Hesidenz said were purchased with a debit card given to the association by the borough. Hesidenz said if the association provides receipts for the items claimed in inventory, council will consider giving it the equipment.

After the meeting, Brian Farrington, attorney for the association, said the outcome was not desired, but somewhat expected. Council said members of the association could have personal items left on the field, Farrington said it does not include baseball equipment, but items such as tools and ladders.

“It’s items they used to improve the fields,” Farrington said. “East Butler Baseball is weighing what they will do next.”

Borough council voted to approve the 2024 operating budget at its meeting, which has about $221,000 and no tax increase, but a deficit of about $3,000. Hesidenz said the tax rate of 12.75 mills has been consistent in the borough “for several years.”

Borough treasurer Jill Titus said the deficit is smaller than it was in the 2023 budget, when expected revenues were about $11,450 lower than expenses. The 2023 budget had about $200,000 in expenses.

Titus said a change in employee insurance policy helped to bring down the deficit in the 2024 budget. She said the borough isn’t planning any large projects in 2024, and some additional costs in the projections are because of regular operating increases.

“There will be a change in insurance, so that is cause for bringing the deficit down,” Titus said. “We’re a very basic budget.”