2012 Budget Message
Dear Borough Residents:
On behalf of Borough Council I am pleased to present the 2012 Borough Budget. This budget represents Council’s commitment to building a high quality community that effectively maintains our infrastructure, water and sewer facilities, emergency services, and our recreational areas during arduous economic times.
Through the hard work of many elected and appointed officials as well as volunteers many changes have been made to ensure a more friendly and efficient community. Prudent decisions in areas of planning, zoning, and financial management are just a few of the many difficult decisions that are made to assure the long term health of Topton Borough
Profile of the Borough of Topton
The borough is patrolled by the Berks Lehigh Regional Police Department and has an average crime rate. The department is headed by Chief Michael P. Weiser and consists of 27 officers whose specialties include patrol, criminal investigation, traffic enforcement, crime prevention, D.A.R.E. programs, and K-9 just to name a few. The borough also supports the Topton Fire Company, the Topton Ambulance Service, and the newly formed Topton Community Crime Watch.
The Borough provides a full range of municipal services which include a park system, swimming pool, 221 acres of open space, a public works department that maintains the roadways and infrastructure, a water plant that supplies the residents with excellent drinking water, and a state of the art sewage treatment plant.
The Borough of Topton operates under the council /manager form of government. The Borough Council is responsible for passing ordinances, setting the tax rate, and adopting an annual budget. The Borough Manager responsibilities include carrying out the policies and ordinances enacted by the council, writing grants, overseeing the day to day operations of the borough, addressing Zoning issues, and issuing a variety of permits.
The annual budget serves as the foundation for the borough’s financial planning. Individual department budgets are drafted and presented to the Finance Officer and Borough Manager for review and discussion. Capital items are reviewed and evaluated to determine their priority for the New Year. The budget includes expenditures and means of financing those expenditures. The Borough Manager then presents the budget to the finance committee who again reviews and evaluates items before recommending the finished budget to council for approval. Borough Council is required by the Borough Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to hold public hearings on the proposed budget and to adopt the budget by no later than December 31 which is designated as the end of the fiscal year.
The 2012 Budget reflects a year round process managing all facets of our community. The 2012 Budget consists of five operating funds which are used to manage and operate our facilities. These efforts for the upcoming year consist of the following initiatives:
- Review and update the Borough’s ordinances.
- Continuing the spring maintenance program for the Borough’s 37 springs.
- Continuing a yearly fire hydrant flushing and valve maintenance schedule.
- Continue escrow funding for the resurfacing program for the Borough’s roadways.
- Continued technological upgrades at the sewer and water plants.
- Maintenance and restoration of the Borough’s sewer and water infrastructure.
- Continuing upgrades to the Borough’s parks and pool.
General Fund
The General Fund is the primary operational fund that is used for supporting core services such as general administration, police and emergency services protection, professional services, and wages. In 2011 the General Fund received 5.4 mills of real estate taxes along with the per capita tax, 1% earned income tax, real estate transfer tax, plus fees and charges for Borough Services.
Liquid Fuels Fund
The liquid fuels fund is dedicated to maintaining the Borough’s roadways and the purchase of equipment used by the Public Works department to maintain those roadways. The revenue for this fund comes from the state gasoline tax. Due to the high price of motor vehicle fuels and the current economic conditions, revenue from this funding source has declined. Our allocation is based on the 2010 census and the 7.88 miles of Borough streets.
Water Fund
The water fund is dedicated to maintaining our water system and the corresponding infrastructure to ensure our residents get the best quality water possible without interruption.
The water plant is located on Woodside Avenue in Longswamp Township and consists of 3 parcels which total 218.98 acres. The largest parcel (180.69 acres) is where the boroughs 37 springs are located. These springs along with our wells provide our residents with high quality drinking water.
The water plant currently is composed of a treatment building, a 150,000 gallon raw water tank and a 1,000,000 gallon finished water tank. In 2011 we were mandated to address recommended operational needs that required attention. These items consisted of additional metering of finished water, level sensors in the raw and finished water tanks, updated controllers, and additional pumps.
In 2011 a new 6 inch water main was installed on Barkley Street, Kline Avenue, and Caloric Circle replacing the original transite water main. This project amounted to $180,000 and was funded through a DCED grant. Also in 2011 the Borough experienced numerous water main breaks throught the Borough. These breaks were repaired by Borough staff in a timely manner.
Ongoing projects in 2012 will be as follows:
- The continued rotational schedule of cleaning the springs thus improving the flow of water from the springs.
- Mapping of all water mains and valves in the watershed.
- Upgrading of the roadways throughout the water shed for quick access to springs.
- Cleaning and testing of the water valves located in our streets.
- Flushing and inspection of our fire hydrants.
- Continued ground and building maintenance at the facilities.
- Escrow of funds for the purchase of needed equipment.
Sewer Fund
The sewer fund is funded by the water usage of our customers. This funding is used to operate and maintain the infrastructure needed to meet the state and federal guidelines for sewage treatment as well as maintaining the facilities and the infrastructure. In 2011 we again experienced lightning strikes, the costs which were submitted to our insurance carrier. We have also submitted our NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) for DEP approval. Approval was granted on September 1, 2011 through December 31, 2016.
Our new sewer plant has been in operation since 2001. This plant is currently rated for 300,000 gallons a day with a 1.2 million gallon per day peak flow. The Borough staff continues to inspect non-sewer water into our sewage transmission system, and will continue to do so until all structures are in compliance. Borough Council wishes to thank all our residents for assisting the borough in this endeavor. By reducing the amount of infiltration into our sewer system we will be able to reduce the amount of chemicals needed to treat the sewage which results in lower operational costs. If you would like to schedule an inspection you can do so by calling the sewer plant at 610-682-7875, or the Borough office at 610-682-2541.
Ongoing projects in 2012 will be as follows:
- Camera sewer lines to ensure a healthy system.
- Continue inspections to reduce non-sewer water into the sewer system.
- Inspections and repair of manholes.
- Cleaning of reed beds.
- Continued ground and building maintenance at the facilities.
In 2012 we will continue our efforts to ensure that our sewage plant remains environmentally friendly as well as meeting all the requirements mandated by State and Federal Agencies.
Recreation
A tree maintenance program was started in 2009 and continues to address the trees at the maintenance building, Bullet Boardwalk, and the Borough Park. They will be trimmed on a yearly basis, and any diseased trees will be removed and replaced if necessary. Plantings have been again placed in the park area to add color and offer a tranquil setting for our residents.
2011 was the second season of our Movie in the Park and Music in the Park program. The family themed movies and music performed by local artists generated great enthusiasm among the many participants. Another event that was met with great success was our Senior Appreciation Day which was held on July 12. We had nearly 78 young at heart seniors enjoy the festivities and programs held that day. Thank you to Jim Ludwick and Rockland Embroidery for their generous donations, M&T Bank, Councilman Mike Wagaman, Senator Judy Schwank, Representative Gary Day, and the Borough staff for making this day a huge success.
Pool Fund
In 2011 the pool experienced many challenges. Additional upgrades were installed due to the generous donations from many individuals. Additional umbrellas have been donated by M&T Bank to provide shade and 20 new benches were purchased from donations replacing the old blue benches.
The Topton Torpedoes 85 swimmers had a 4/2 season in the Artic division, and advancing 9 swimmers to county qualifications. The Need For Speed Invitational drew 254 swimmers from around Berks County and was voted the Best Invitational in Berks County. Congratulations to all for a job well done.
We had a fantastic group of young people who were employed as Life Guards and Concession Stand servers. These young adults, as always, did a wonderful job. There were 7 incidents where the quick reaction and expertise of our guards resulted in exemplary care to our patrons. Again the staff did a great job in the daily operation, and with the oversight of Marcus Dolny the pool enjoyed another successful year was had for all. There were again many Family Activity Nights that were available for the enjoyment of the attendee’s.
Public Works
In 2011 our employees continued line painting, painting the crosswalks as well as the yellow curbs to indicate no parking. This is an ongoing project and painting will be done on a rotational system in 2012.
An Automated Red Light Enforcement Transportation Enhancement Grant was completed and awarded to the Borough in the amount of $5,907.40. This grant will be used to replace the two School Warning lights located on Weis Street.
The Borough also received a donation of a hydraulic vehicle lift that will enable our employees to do more vehicle maintenance in house. The lift was installed by our employees and is already in use.
The Borough will continue escrowing monies for the needed purchase of vehicles, as well as utilizing Liquid Fuels money to upgrade our vehicles, as well as purchasing needed equipment. Currently we have three vehicles that are from the 1990 that are desperately in need of major upgrades or replacement.
Ongoing projects in 2012 will be as follows:
- Crack sealing and blacktop repairs.
- Replacement of signs with high reflective signs.
- Maintenance of vehicles, buildings, properties and streets.
- Inspection and repair of storm sewer inlets.
- Maintenance of detention basins.
Thank you to all our workers for their dedication and commitment to reducing costs while providing a high quality of service.
Initiatives
The Borough Manager continues meeting with Congressman Gerlach, Senator Schwank and their staff, to implement solutions for the remediation of the Toad Creek from Weiss St to Home Avenue. A plan has been prepared by the Army Corp of Engineers and the Borough’s portion of funding is being sought. Also assisting the Borough is Kate O'Brien, a Watershed Specialist from the Berks County Conservation District. Kate is assisting in completing a remediation plan for the lower Toad Creek.
The Berks County Work Release program under the supervision of Officer Mike Zellner has again been instrumental in helping the Borough complete various projects. This year the remaining sections of the Bullet Boardwalk have been painted.
Borough Council would like to thank all of our volunteers and employees for the great job they do for our community. If you are interested in volunteering some time to your community, please contact the manager. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated.
Conclusion
The budget document outlines the entire financing plan for all the Borough’s departments. The budget serves as a planning and management tool as well as a financial plan for Borough Council. Each line item lists the revenues and expenditures for each fund.
We have attempted to present to the community a detailed plan for 2012 as well as explaining what was accomplished in 2011.
I would personally like to express my gratitude to the Borough employees for the tremendous jobs they do on a day to day basis, ensuring that the needs of the Borough and its residents are meet. I also would like to thank Mr. Marcus Dolny, our Finance Officer for his part in presenting a balanced budget.
As always, if you have any questions or comments about the budget or any of its parts, please do not hesitate to call me for clarification and assistance.
Respectfully,
Anthony Branco
Borough Manager
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