After a year of financial hardship and job loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bensalem Township Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo and the council are working to prevent further burdens on residents.
During its annual budget meeting, held via Zoom on Dec. 7, the council voted unanimously on the 2021 budget, which will not raise taxes for locals.
“This is my 27th straight budget without a property tax increase. I think that’s great and it’s going to continue again this year. There’s not going to be any kind of tax increase,” said DiGirolamo. “The most important thing this year is the COVID virus that we’ve all been going through since March. It’s had an impact on everyone’s lives in one way or another, and it certainly has here in Bensalem. We’re going to try to do the best we can to get all of our citizens the essentials and services they deserve.”
According to finance manager John Chaykowski, the 2021 budget looks very similar to 2020. He informed the council that, after the township’s 2019 audit was finalized, it was able to return $4.4 million to the General Fund balance.
“It’s important to recognize that we continually return these funds year after year,” he said. “This fund balance allows the township to continue to be able to provide a level of service that the mayor feels the residents of this community deserve.”
Council member Joseph Knowles expressed his appreciation for this.
“We started out with $19 million in our General Fund, which enabled us to take the hit from COVID that the township and almost every resident has taken, and still have $10 million left in the General Fund at the end for this 2021 budget,” said Knowles.
He added that the township’s Earned Income Tax accounts for 33 percent of the budget.
“That does not hit seniors. We protected seniors to be able to stay in their home during this difficult time. It doesn’t affect unemployment benefits that people get from the state, especially emergency money from the federal government,” Knowles said.
About 65 percent of the budget is dedicated to police ($33,170,500 for 2021 compared to $32,405,400 in 2020) and fire ($1,870,200 for 2021 compared to $1,860,600 in 2020).
“2020 was an unusual year, to say the least, between COVID-19, civil unrest, police reform issues, attacks on police,” said director of public safety Fred Harran. “But we continue to hold the line on public safety and protection in our community.”
Highlights this year for the Bensalem Township Police Department include maintaining state and national accreditation, signing a historic agreement with the Bucks County NAACP and having two social workers stationed at its headquarters to help officers respond to incidents concerning mental health. The department also expanded its technology.
“Supervisors are now able to watch officers in live time and tap into their body cameras to see things as they’re transpiring,” said Harran.
Utilizing funds in the 2021 budget, Bensalem Police plans to purchase more storage for body camera videos, which tend to be large files; implement new police-community initiatives (which Harran said can’t be unveiled just yet); and additional officer training.
Regarding Bensalem Fire Rescue, both its headquarters and trucks will receive upgrades.
“The volunteers are stretched thin and we want to make sure that the day crew has enough of the proper equipment,” said Harran.
When questioned by the council about a Gaming Control Board item, Harran said the township received a grant for “illegal gaming investigations,” but couldn’t say more.
Dennis Hunt, director of Public Works, presented his department’s budget needs. The increase from $3,818,600 to $3,929,300 will install new street lights on Hansell Drive and purchase a new street sweeper. Hunt said the current sweeper is almost nine years old, and maintenance costs are totaling nearly $10,000 annually.
For Parks and Recreation, presented by director Chuck McMullin, the cost of salaries will be lower in 2021. He said the department eliminated a position and did not replace the individual. While the township hired a management company to assist with the annual Fall Festival and Penn Community Bank Amphitheater summer concert series, these events were canceled. The company had already put in some work, so the township needed to pay only a small amount of the contract.
Also, because the Memorial Day parade was canceled for 2020 but was already paid for, the funds allotted for the 2021 event will be put into the General Fund at the end of the year.
Building and Planning director Ken Farrall said his department’s portion of the budget will be largely used to update the township’s master plan.
“Every 20 years or so, we go through and we update our master plan – where the township wants to go, where development can occur, what kind of development,” he said. “It’s a document that’s roughly an inch thick that we use in grant applications, we use as a roadmap of where the township is going to go.”
Additionally, DiGirolamo said the Homeowners Assistance Grant program will continue. Since its inception in 2007, it has returned over $42 million ($300 each) to residents. With the adoption of the 2021 budget, that amount is expected to increase to over $46 million.
“It’s challenging daily,” said DiGirolamo. “But with everybody working together, I believe teams win. We’re doing that for the people in Bensalem and we’ll continue to do that.”
Samantha Bambino can be reached at [email protected]
