Preliminary Budget Meeting Highlights Costs of Special Projects

The Mayor and Council held a special meeting Monday to discuss the 2013 Municipal Budget. Included in the 2013 budget are "Special Projects" -- costs that encompass continued mitigation of the Hirschfeld Brook, the cost of renovations to Firehouse 1 and Firehouse 2, and the design costs for the new Police Headquarters.

The costs allocated for these special projects are:

• Hirschfeld Brook project: $1,400,000.
• Renovation cost for Firehouse 1: $736,000
• Renovation cost for Firehouse 2: $1,666,500
• Design for Police Headquarters: $200,000

The combined total of these special projects adds an additional $4,002,500 to the 2013 Municipal Budget.

The plan is to move forward with the renovation of both firehouses in 2013, design the new stand alone Police Headquarters in 2013 and go forward with breaking ground in 2014. The new police headquarters will be located directly behind its current location.

Mayor Ann Subrizi said that the Borough's grant writer, Marlene Casey, is scheduled to appear before the Mayor and Council at their March 11 meeting to discuss potential grants for these projects. However, the money must first be bonded to move these projects forward and any grant monies received will be used to pay down the debt incurred by those bonds.

The 2013 Municipal Budget will be introduced at the March 11 work session of the Mayor and Council. The meeting will be held in the upstairs conference room of Borough Hall and begin at 7 p.m.  

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