Politics & Government

Crescent Hires Police Officers, Increases Tax Anticipation Loan

Prompted by the Allegheny County property reassessment, tax revenues for municipalities could be delayed until November.

The  Tuesday night approved the advertisement of its 2012 Tax Anticipation Loan.

The township's requested amount, $350,000, is $100,000 more than the $250,000 it usually requests. 

“We borrow a certain amount of money to float us until our taxes come in,” said Commissioner Karen Patton, who oversees finances. “Normally, a lot of municipalities do that in order to operate the township.”

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The Allegheny County property reassessment prompted the request for the increased loan amount. 

The township begins collecting its tax dollars by the end of May or beginning of June. 

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But board President Bill Cook said the reassessment may cause the township to not get its tax numbers back until April or May, giving Crescent only one month to prepare tax bills. This could mean the township would not receive tax revenue until the fall. 

“I personally have concerns that $250,000 is going to be enough,” Cook said.

“If we have to borrow $350,000 or $400,000, the cost of doing business goes up because we pay interest on what we have to pay back," he said. "We’re already working on a tight budget, and Allegheny County is going to force us to spend more money and borrow money to keep us in line until that happens.”

The township's auditor has recommended that its 2012 operating budget remain at about $1.6 million, nearly the same amount budgeted for 2011.   

“So we’ve cut back on a lot of things,” Cook said. “It’s going to be a very, very lean year.”

Patton said that after taking a $350,000 loan, the township would have a $700,000 buffer through the end of August. 

The board also approved the hiring of three new part-time police officers. The three officers -- William Suder, Michael Lopata and Brian Brooks -- were recommended by the Civil Service Commission. Those officers will serve in addition to the department's three-full time officers and current part-time officers. 

The township continues to hire part-time officers, said township manager Patience Eckhardt. 


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