SLIPPERY ROCK — The borough, which wants to add two employees for 2016, is working on ways to cover a projected $139,000 budget shortfall in 2016 without raising taxes.

Members of council discussed the budget Tuesday night.

Included in a proposed budget, which has yet to be voted on, are a half-time borough manager and a full-time streets and maintenance worker, council president Regina Greenwald said.

The borough manager potentially would be shared with another municipality and would cost the borough $40,000 salary a year plus benefits.

The maintenance worker would be paid $18 per hour, which would cost about $37,000 per year plus benefits.

Officials plan to spend $40,000 on a new police cruiser and an unspecified amount on security cameras for the intersection of Main Street and New Castle Street.

Cameras are wanted because vehicles hitting support posts and light poles at the intersection have caused about $15,000 in damage this year, Greenwald said.

But money is needed to cover those costs and to balance the budget.

Greenwald said officials need to look for “ways to either shift money around or come up with ways to cut expenses or come up with creative ways to find more money.”

Council member Itzi Meztli noted that the budget also does not include donations to the Slippery Rock Community Library and the Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company and Rescue Team, both of which are raising money for new buildings.

This year’s borough budget includes a $5,000 donation to the library and a $4,450 donation to the fire department, which also receives $22,000 from a 1.65 mills property tax.

“These are two worthwhile projects. They want a new building, I want to see where we can get extra money,” Meztli said.

At the meeting, the council did reduce the shortfall amount by more than $20,000 by agreeing to increase projected revenue in 2016 for earned income tax and parking tickets, both of which have been up this year.

The borough’s property tax rate of 21.875 mills has not been raised in more than 15 years, council member Ron Steele said.

The budget committee of Greenwald, council member Dave Miller and borough administrator Lucinda Lipko will continue to work on the budget to create a proposal for council by the end of the year, she said. It needs to be adopted before Jan. 1.

Also at the meeting, council voted to appoint attorney John Trant as an interim zoning officer for $125 per hour. He is a planning consultant for the borough.

At the suggestion of Meztli, he will work a maximum of 12 hours per month while the borough seeks a permanent person or agency for the position.

The borough needs a person to do property maintenance inspections, rental inspections and to work with the zoning hearing board.

John Nath of Professional Code Services does residential and commercial property inspections, though he recently told the borough that he could no longer handle other duties.

Trant will only handle zoning questions and requests since they are time sensitive, Lipko said.