Butler’s City Building is located at the corner of North and Washington streets.

Butler’s City Hall was constructed to be a residence in 1909, and the city purchased the building on the corner of North and Washington streets in 1930, specifically to house its offices.

The building is now undergoing repairs for damages caused by a water leak discovered on Nov. 23, and city council is weighing options to upgrade the building, particularly its flooring and interior paint job.

With the city’s funding up because of last year’s sale of Butler Area Sewer Authority to Pennsylvania American Water, Butler’s elected officials seem to be considering more uses for its money. Council already passed a tax decrease in its 2026 budget, so reason would have it that its members could update city hall without sacrificing any other projects or uses of tax money.

City Hall is a piece of public property that is funded by everyone who lives or spends money in Butler, so updates to the 116-year-old building would be a fine use of city money. A governmental facility should be a representation of the people and the place it represents, so keeping a city hall well kept should be somewhere on the priority list.

And while some city residents may not think the building is worthy of renovations, they could attend a meeting of city council to voice their opinion on the matter to the people who make those decisions. Council meetings take place at 7 p.m. on the first and third Thursday of each month on the building’s third floor. Mayor Bob Dandoy said council may consider modernization upgrades to the council chambers, like adding video screens so people could make presentations.

Updates to a governmental office are worthwhile, so long as there are no other urgent financial issues facing the community it is in.

— ET