Butler CFO Presents 2011 Budget to Council

Butler Chief Financial Officer Jim Kozimor presented a proposed $10.2 million 2011 budget to the Tuesday. Kozimor will be formally introducing the proposed budget at the council's next meeting on April 19.

The total proposed tax levy is 85.3 cents per $100 of assessed value, based on a home assessed at $252,702. Under the proposed budget, a taxpayer would pay $2,154.30 in taxes, an increase of about $97 over last year.

The budget Kozimor presented is $439,707 less than last year's $10,650,871 budget, but this year, the borough was forced to create a separate line item for library appropriations that are mandated to be funded through taxes, whereas last year, the library appropriations were included in the total budget number.Kozimor said the borough is required to collect $338,728 for library appropriations in 2011 under the proposed budget, and that the amount is determined by the ratable base.

"Last year, the ratable base went down because of tax appeals," he said. When tax appeals are filed, home assessments are lowered and the ratable base decreases.

Last year, $349,027 was collected for library appropriations, though taxpayers were unable to see it as a separate item on their tax bills.

"I think they wanted residents to realize how much they are paying towards their local library," Kozimor said of legislators' decision to separate the item.

Kozimor also said that while it appears as though there is a large decrease in the budget with taxes increasing, it is because last year, the borough had been able to factor grant revenues into the 2010 budget, offsetting the expenditures that were associated with them.

Mayor Robert Alviene commended Borough Administrator James Lampmann for working hard with Kozimor to keep the proposed budget lean.

"I think we did good and I think we can thank the administrator for that," he said.

Lampmann said that having to spend more money than the borough has in the past on snow removal and winter clean-up costs this year caused the borough to have nowhere else to cut from when developing the proposed budget.

"There's no fluff in the budget, especially after the winter we've had," he said.

Councilman Robert Fox also commended the administration. "It was a long, hard battle getting it down to where it is," he said.