The Cranberry Eagle
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 Article published November 26, 2012

Township budget holds line on taxes
Garbage, water fees unchanged

Bob Schultz
Cranberry Eagle

CRANBERRY TWP — The township supervisors Tuesday evening approved a 2013 preliminary budget that includes no tax increase and holds rates for sewage, water and garbage services.
The supervisors will vote on the final budget on Dec. 13.
The property tax rate is set to remain at 13 mills for 2013.
Some recreation program fees, including those at North Boundary Water Park and greens fees at Cranberry Highlands Golf Course, are expected to rise slightly.
The $17.2 million general fund operating budget is up slightly from this year’s $16.4 million.
Separate operating budgets for sewer and water, garbage, swimming pool and the golf course total $33.2 million, also up from this year’s $28.9 million. Those revenues are generated from user fees.
Vanessa Gleason, Cranberry’s director of finance, said the township is projecting about a 5 percent increase in revenue and a 4 percent increase in expenditures in next year’s general operating fund.
Cranberry manager Jerry Andree said the proposed budget supports the commitment to current services while continuing an aggressive infrastructure program.
Some of the projects include the completion of a new main sewage collection line, water line upgrades, North Boundary Waterpark rehabilitation work, township municipal center renovations, Playtime Palace replacement, road and bridge upgrades, a new EMS headquarters behind the Park Fire Station, improvements to the Route 228 corridor and planning for the expansion of the sewage treatment plant.
The last property tax increase was last year, when Cranberry raised the rate by 2.35 mills. Prior to that, a tax increase had last occurred eight years earlier.
A copy of the budget is on the township’s website www.cranberrytownship.org.