MILLCREEK’S BUDGET

Pennsylvania law requires that all townships, prior to December 31, adopt a budget for the following calendar year. The board of supervisors must approve a preliminary budget at least 20 days prior to action on the final budget, and the public is given notice of that preliminary budget.

Most of Millcreek’s annual revenues are receipts from different taxes, including those on real property, earned income, employed persons for local services and real estate transfers. Millcreek and the Millcreek School District share equally in funds from the earned income and realty transfer taxes. Millcreek receives over $1 million each year from the State’s liquid fuels tax and approximately $600,000 annually from cable television franchise fees. Smaller amounts are collected from a public utility tax, license and permit fees, fines, grants, rents, income on investments and other sources.

Millcreek’s budget categorizes expenses as debt service, employee benefits, administration, tax collection, fire protection and miscellaneous expense and among its engineering, maintenance, police, code enforcement, streets and recreation departments.

The amount of money collected from the earned income tax and from realty transfer tax depends on economic conditions, and the current budget anticipates adverse effects because of the downturn in the general economy and in the housing market.

Liquid fuels funds are paid to the State from taxes on gasoline and other fuels. Part of the tax revenues are then allocated to municipalities and are to be used in paying expenses of streets improvement, maintenance, plowing and related services. The amount of that funding is dependent on how much is collected by the State.

Local governments, like everyone else, find themselves dealing with unexpected cost increases, contractions in supply and similar economic variables. Earlier in this decade, all governments, businesses and individuals had to deal with unanticipated and significant increases in insurance costs. More recently, we have experienced dramatic increases in the cost of fuel, asphalt and other materials containing petroleum and Pennsylvania municipalities in 2008 encountered unexpected problems obtaining rock salt and major increases in its cost.

Millcreek ’s Supervisors and Treasurer Gerald Wolf have consistently adopted budgets that project revenues realistically while holding the line on expenses. Internal controls have been adopted to discourage unnecessary spending and ensure that proposed expenses are budgeted or necessary in the circumstances. Without increasing staff, Millcreek maintains an increasing number of streets and provides quality police protection. In recent years, Millcreek has completed major projects that have improved important streets, including West Gore Road and Glenridge Road .

Millcreek has led joint purchasing efforts that have reduced costs paid for many products and materials. The Supervisors have worked with the township’s fire departments to preserve and improve volunteer fire protection services and with neighboring townships to develop an inter-municipal process for enforcing the Pennsylvania Construction Code. Because of these and other measures, property tax rates in 2010 are lower than in 2003.

In recent years, Millcreek acquired land it is preserving as Wander Park and Cassidy Park, in part with State grant funds. In 2009, Millcreek acquired the Erie Golf Course property and reopened this asset as it works to make needed repairs and improvements to it.

Millcreek has acquired other lands to develop as storm water detention facilities to reduce flooding after storms. One new facility is to begin operation in 2010 and construction of another beginning in 2011. Millcreek and the Millcreek Township Sewer Authority implemented costly improvements and have dealt with clean water discharges to the sanitary sewer system, which have eliminated sewage discharges, reduced flooding and sewer backups and reduced transportation and treatment costs.