South Fayette adopts budget; no tax increase
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Taxes will remain the same in South Fayette Township for 2014 after the board of commissioners adopted a balanced $9,095,678 budget at its meeting last week.
The board also approved the township’s real estate tax millage level, which will also stay the same as the 2013 rate at 3.48 mills.
In addition to the budget adoption, commissioners approved a resolution establishing the township’s fees. The resolution includes several fee increases including building, signs and others. The fee resolution also calls for application fees of $5,000 for oil and gas development along with an additional $25,000 that must be given to the township to be placed in an escrow account from which it may draw from or be reimbursed for administrative expenses and engineering costs associated with reviews and inspections.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, resident Fred Cardillo stated that he had some concerns about the mining application and escrow fees.
“It’s not because I’m advocating mining,” he told the board.
Cardillo, who works for a company that does blasting, said he was concerned about the high fees and the impact those would have on government financed construction contracts for remining or reclaiming previously mined land.
He said reclaiming previously mined land helps to combat the problem of acid mine drainage due to runoff.
“I don’t know if anyone would come in if they had to pay $5,000 or $25,000,” Cardillo said, adding that the reclamation is good for the environment and that the state Department of Environmental protection is “100 percent behind it.”
Cardillo also pointed out that about 20 to 30 acres of property in Boys’ Home Park that was strip-mined in the past and has not yet been reclaimed. He said in that part of the park, grass and trees do not grow.
The board also approved a collective bargaining agreement with the township’s police union. The agreement is a four-year agreement and runs through Dec. 31, 2016. It calls for a 3 percent raise each year for the township’s 15 officers starting with the current year.