Westmoreland property taxes increase by 2.4%

By Rich Cholodofsky

Trib Total Media

Westmoreland County officials said a 2.4% property tax increase approved Thursday is needed to balance the 2020 budget, a spending plan that will nearly drain a surplus fund and relies on a $10 million loan to pay the bills at the start of next year.

Commissioners Gina Cerilli and Charles Anderson approved the $341 million budget, which they said retains the current level of county services but carries virtually no safety net for unexpected expenses and relies on about $1.9 million in new revenue generated by a half-mill increase in property taxes.

“I’ve always said that if and when we have to raise taxes, I would only do it for the expenses for the next year,” Cerilli said. “Right now, we have our backs against the wall because we have to have a balanced budget by Dec. 31.”

She defended the tax increase as necessary and said other projected revenue streams — a potential settlement of the county’s lawsuit against opioid drug makers and taxes generated by a mini casino slated to open next year in Hempfield, for example — can’t be counted on to bolster the budget in 2020.

Cerilli said she won’t support cuts to allocations to outside agencies such as Westmoreland County Community College, the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, the transit authority, food bank and local libraries.

Discretionary funding to outside organizations accounts for more than $9.5 million of spending in next year’s budget.

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