Two weeks ago, Saxonburg Borough Council members lamented the fact that it would take a 2.5-mill tax increase to cover the expenses proposed for the 2022 budget.

But innovative thinking by the borough manager flipped that scenario to a 2-mill tax decrease next year.

The council at its Oct. 19 meeting heard Mary Papik, borough manager, report a $29,800 deficit in the proposed budget being prepared for approval in November.

None of the council members were interested in increasing taxes, so they decided to meet in two weeks from that time to discuss ways to cut expenses.

At that meeting Wednesday, Papik told the council that $91,500 of the $150,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds received by the borough for pandemic relief can be transferred to the general fund to cover expenses.

Read more in Thursday's Butler Eagle.