Donora council fine tunes 2017 budget to increase spending for police department
DONORA — Council members held a special meeting on Tuesday evening to discuss ways to reallocate more money for the police department in 2017.
“We have a very tight budget and don’t have much room to maneuver funds,” said Councilman John Conger, who heads the finance committee. “But at the end of the day, we were able to give our police department more money while keeping a balanced budget.”
Approximately $11,000 has been added to the police department budget. This will include more money for part-time police officers and overtime wages, as well as an increase in police professional liability insurance. Donora’s police department is budgeted at $473,445 this coming year.
To make these adjustments, the council made cuts in a few other areas, including some reductions in spending for the street department.
“I’m satisfied with how we readjusted some of the line items in our budget,” said Council President Dennis Gutierrez. “Most importantly, we did this without raising taxes for the residents of Donora.”
Donora’s 2017 budget will remain at $2,246,788. The council will vote on the final budget Friday at 10 a.m.
In other action, the council accepted the resignation of Dennis Fisher, who will retiring as borough administrator Jan. 7. The council will begin a job search to find a replacement.
“We are deeply grateful to Dennis for being such a loyal employee,” said Conger. “We don’t give him enough credit for all he has done to benefit our community.”
The council also announced that a town meeting will be at at 6 p.m. Jan. 17 in the social hall. Dr. Quintin B. Bullock, president of the Community College of Allegheny County, will talk about construction proposal plans for the creation of a CCAC extension campus in Donora.