7 December 2021
Dear Neighbors,
We are pleased to provide this letter to accompany the Borough’s draft budget for 2022. This budget draft is available for your review online and in the Borough Office. Council will review the budget again at our meeting on Tuesday, December 7th before voting to approve a final budget on Monday, December 20th at our final meeting of the year.
For 2022, the Borough of Rutledge remains in a strong and stable financial position with opportunities to improve our community and offer a balanced budget for FY2022.
Borough Taxes will NOT increase in 2021. However we are projecting significant increases in both trash fees and sewer fees. More information on each is provided below. Though the fee increases are inevitable, we are working to identify ways in which the Borough can work to reduce the impact and overall increases.
The 2021 financial successes:
- Tax and fee payments remain strong
- Collection of over $20,000 in overdue taxes, trash and sewer fees thanks to the diligent efforts of the Borough office staff.
- Rutledge was awarded a $250,000 grant from Delaware County to improve and revitalize Triangle Park.
The 2021 financial challenges:
- Hall rental revenue was severely limited due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, reducing this important funding source.
- The Borough entered the final year of our trash and recycling contract at a time when municipal costs for these services are increasing.
- Continued increase in Borough costs, including contracts, labor costs and material costs.
Below are the highlights of the proposed 2022 Budget divided into the three components of your tax bill:
- Borough Taxes: This is based on individual property assessments. The borough millage rate will remain the same at 3.07.
- Trash Service Fee: This is a flat per household fee. This consists of the contracted rate for hauling the trash and recycling plus the trash and recycling disposal fees.
- A new contract for hauling is still being negotiated for 2022, but the anticipated increase is of over 95%. This is partially due to the previous contract being written 5 years ago, prior to a large increase in the disposal of recycled goods paired with the increase in labor rates, fuel costs, and uncertainty in the distance of where the trash will need to be disposed of. This is why we are pursuing a short 2 year contract.
- Delaware County Solid Waste Authority will be increasing dumping or “tipping” fees by 20% for 2022. This is a direct cost billed to the Borough monthly. This is due to the high cost of expanding their landfill and the uncertainty of the contract with the Covanta Incinerator in Chester.
- The continued increase in waste tonnage produced by Rutledge. This is the second year in a row where we have seen a large increase in tonnage coming from Rutledge.
- We are considering adding a limited number of yard waste pickups to try and cut down on the trash tonnage.
Why are trash fees going up, and what can we do about it? There is little the Borough can do to address hauling and disposal costs beyond following best practice by bidding out this contract through a public process and selecting the best bid. However, we can address the issue of how much waste we produce. The Borough Office has been tracking monthly tonnage. Like many municipalities, 2020 saw a dramatic increase in total waste produced as more families stayed home, and therefore created more waste. Yet, in 2021, Rutledge has sent even more waste into the waste stream than in 2020 – nearly 8% more. This is why the Borough is exploring options to redirect as much waste as possible out of this disposal stream – including establishing yard waste pick up and capping bulk waste disposal.
The projected 2022 trash rate is $504.50 per household, up $265.56 in 2021, pending final contract negotiations with the low bid contractor.
- Sewer Usage Fee: This is also a flat fee per household. The vast majority of this fee is paid to Central Delaware County Authority (CDCA) to process our wastewater. This is charged per gallon and is measured as the flow leaves our borough. The fees from CDCA continue to increase, approximately 11% for 2022. Additionally the Borough’s total flow increased by over 30% in 2021. Last year, with lower flows, we were able to decrease the sewer fees. However, as both the CDCA fees and Rutledge’s flow have increased, the fee will increase this year. In order to minimize this increase, we are proposing to offset this by utilizing the $14,000 collected in overdue sewer fees in 2020..
The projected 2022 rate is $620.99 per household, up from $516.35 in 2021 and from $584.62 in 2020, pending the final CDCA budget.
We welcome your questions, comments, and feedback on the borough budget. You can share those thoughts and ideas with us electronically by sending a note to rutledgemanager@gmail.com, in writing (just drop-off your note at the borough office), or in person. The borough finance committee will hold a special session on Wednesday, 8 December, at 7pm at the borough office if you’d like to stop by and speak with us in person.
Sincerely,
Heidi Sentivan, Council President Jody A. Roberts, Council Vice-President