SEVEN FIELDS — For the ninth consecutive year, residents will likely not see an increase in their real estate taxes.

The proposed 2020 municipal budget, unveiled at Monday's borough council meeting, would keep the real estate tax at 7 mills while increasing expenditures by about 7 percent.

Borough Manager Tom Smith said the biggest uptick in Seven Fields' spending, which is projected to increase by 6.69 percent, is the additional burden taken on by the borough in the Evans City-Seven Fields Regional Police Department cost apportionment, in which the municipality will pay more than $81,000 more than it has in 2019.

To counteract the increased spending, the borough projects a 3 percent increase in tax revenue and an additional 3 percent increase in water revenue.

“We'll transfer any operating surplus funds to cover any operating deficit from the water fund,” Smith said.

For the first time in two decades, the borough seeks to increase the cost of residency, commercial and occupancy permits — something Smith said has not changed since 1990 — as well as slight bumps to the community center rental, from $100 to $125 for the first two hours, and pool rental, from $300 to $350.

Council approved an ordinance setting the real estate millage rate and permitted the advertisement of the budget.