The Butler Redevelopment Authority on Thursday announced the receipt of $200,000 in grant money for owner-occupied home renovations and adopted a 2021 budget that includes 5% employee pay raises.

The $166,446 budget includes a 5% overall spending increase over the $140,886 budget from 2020.

Board member Brian McCafferty said the authority ended 2020 with spending 8% under budget, despite spending on miscellaneous items, such as office cleaning supplies, advertising and postage that exceeded its line-item allocation, and repairs to the office heating and air conditioning system.

The 2021 budget includes 5% salary increases for acting Executive Director Veronica Walker and rehabilitation inspector Art Cordwell and a 5% contingency fund.

Walker said the authority has received a $200,000 Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency to provide grants to income-qualified homeowners for home renovations projects.

More than 100 people are on a waiting list for the grants, she said.

Homeowners can do the work themselves or hire a contractor, but the renovations must include fixing all building code violations, Walker said.

The average renovation project costs between $50,000 and $60,000, so the grant is expected to cover about four projects, she added.

In addition, the authority approved an $11,067 change order for the Kaufman Drive reconstruction project. The change was for adding 2 inches of subbase material to make the road stronger. The additional cost will increase the total project cost to $114,067.

The authority also turned down an offer of $300 to buy two speakers in the Penn Theater. Walker said the value of one of the speakers is between $1,000 and $3,800.