The Mt. Lebanon Commission will be considering adoption of the 2016 budget at the Tuesday, December 8, commission meeting. Residents interested in commenting on the budget, which can be viewed online at www.mtlebanon.org, at the library or at the municipal building, will have a chance to voice their opinions at the Tuesday, November 10, commission meeting at 8 p.m.

Mt. Lebanon’s proposed budget for 2016 has been submitted to the Commission for review.  The  proposed operating budget is $31.9 million, with an additional $16.2 million planned for one-time capital projects.

“This is the third consecutive year that Mt. Lebanon has not raised taxes,” says Finance Director Andrew McCreery, who is the point person for this year’s budget process, following Municipal Manager Steve Feller’s resignation in October.

The property tax millage, earned income tax rate and real estate transfer tax rate will stay the same in 2016. Because of Allegheny County’s freeze on property assessments, property tax revenue is expected to increase only 0.7 percent from 2015.

Some more good news: The Mt. Lebanon Recreation Department is projected to bring in a net total of $202,300 in revenue, and the refinancing of a 2010 bond will result in a savings of $400,000.

Mt. Lebanon should be paying less next year for commodities, largely due to a decrease in the prices of fuel and rock salt. The price reduction of the two items accounts for almost $120,000 of the expected $138,000 savings. Next year’s savings from the energy audit conducted in 2012 by Linc/ABM Mechanical are pegged at $67,000.

Among the new items in the 2016 budget are $40,000 for updated real estate tax collection software, $20,000 for replacement of the light pole banners along Washington Road and $30,000 for additional deer management. That cost may be reduced, depending on the remaining balance of a $75,400 deer management carryover from 2015.

Capital budget projects include $137,100 for new sidewalks and electrical panels at the tennis center; $132,000 for the greening of the southern end of Robb Hollow Park—landscaping and planting trees; and $48,500 for improving the paved cart paths at the golf course.

At its Tuesday, November 10, meeting, the Commission will hold a public hearing on the recommended budget, and introduce the budget ordinance. At the Tuesday, December 8, meeting, the Commission will hold another public hearing on any revisions that were made to the proposed budget, and will vote to adopt the budget.

The budget is online. If you would like to comment on it publicly, you should attend the budget hearing Tuesday, November 10, during the 8 p.m. regular meeting of the commission in the municipal building, 710 Washington Road.