You know how you budget for day-to-day things like groceries and then have a special budget for big-ticket stuff, like a car? Well, Mt. Lebanon does the same thing. Each year, the municipality submits an operating budget, which pays for fire and police protection, snow and ice control—all the services provided day in and day out.

For bigger things, such as new fire equipment, park and recreation upgrades or street reconstruction, Mt. Lebanon creates capital improvement plans, and spreads the purchases over a five-year period.

Although the capital improvement plan covers five years, the municipality must publish a new plan each year, which accurately reflects any changes in our needs and priorities. The plan must be approved as part of the annual budget process.

The 2015-2019 plan includes 57 new or continuing projects for infrastructure, facility or equipment with a gross cost of $75,017,520 over the five-year period. A number of the proposed projects are funded in whole or in part by grants, debt issuance, user fees and contributions. That reduces the net tax cost for the program to $32,880,170.

Many of the projects were planned in keeping with the recommendations from Mt. Lebanon’s Comprehensive Plan, a report completed in 2013 that outlines a path for the municipality for the next 10 years.

Some of the most significant projects proposed for 2015 are $3.85 million for sanitary sewer work required by a consent decree between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Allegheny County Sanitation Authority; $2.1 million for street reconstruction, and public works facility improvements for $1.62 million.

The 2015 program also includes $509,580 for storm water management, $994,140 for replacement of public works vehicles and equipment, $350,000 for park improvements, and a variety of equipment purchases and smaller projects.

The capital improvement program has been posted and also is available for review at the library and municipal building.