Mt. Lebanon’s Manager’s Recommended 2024 Budget [1] is slated for adoption by the Commission at its Tuesday, December 12, meeting. The proposed budget was released to the public on November 1, and is available for viewing online at mtlebanon.org [2] and can be viewed at the municipal building and the Mt. Lebanon Public Library. The website will also list links to watch all meetings online.
The Commission held three budget workshops in November, with a fourth tentatively scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m., on Tuesday, December 5, in Room C of the municipal building. The workshops are open to the public, although members of the public cannot speak at the workshops.
Key in next year’s budget is a new waste hauling contract with Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill. Industry-wide price increases in waste hauling resulted in a total cost of $18,278,495 over the next five years. Municipal Manager Keith McGill is proposing assessing each household with a flat fee of $360 a year to cover the cost increase. To offset the fee, McGill is recommending a 0.5-mill reduction in real estate taxes. A mill is $1 of tax money for every $1,000 of a home’s assessed value. The Commission will make the final decision on funding. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Since publication, the Commission has decided to make that a $290 fee and set the tax rate at 4.5 mills.]
Other items in the proposed budget include a new fire training facility and public works storage building, and a feasibility study on the south parking garage space. A structural analysis this year revealed that the garage is nearing the end of its useful life and will need to be replaced within the next five years. Investments in municipal infrastructure amount to $3.85 million for mandated sanitary sewer improvements, $2.2 million for street reconstruction and $350,790 for storm sewer improvements.
Mt. Lebanon’s total combined budget for all funds is $61.7 million, with an operating budget of $38.7 million. A capital budget is for high-priced items, or items that cannot be paid for in one budgeting year. In addition to street and sewer repairs, other capital projects proposed for 2024 include $612,600 for push-button traffic control signals on Washington Road, $382,000 for traffic signal replacement at Bower Hill Road and Parkview Drive.