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BELLEFONTE -- On Tuesday, the Centre County Board of Commissioners approved the 2021 budget.
The 2021 budget came in at $81.6 million. The good news? Centre County residents will see no property tax increase for the 11th consecutive year. The millage rate will remain at unchanged at 7.84 mills.
There were some minor tweaks to the budget, according to Centre County director of financial management, Tom Martin. The final budget had some minor changes for the better from the tentative one introduced on Dec. 8. Revenues are now at $78,636,015, an increase of $35,074 from the proposed budget resulting from adjusted departmental projections.
Additionally, expenditures decreased by $43,670 following personnel changes and employee selection of insurance options during the open enrollment period. They total $81,619,783 -- including $80,708,583 in operating budget expenditures and $911,200 in capital reserve funds.
"There very minimal changes throughout the 20-day public inspection period," said Martin, who is leaving his position with the county. "We had some minor adjustments to revenue."
Here are some of the highlights of the 2021 budget:
-- Federal and state grants and payments in lieu of taxes make up the largest portion of the general and special funds budget at about $34 million -- or 43 percent. Real estate taxes total about 34 percent, with $23.1 million going to the general fund and $4.1 million to debt service. Departmental earnings for services comprise 17 percent of the budget at $12.9 million and internal charges for services 6 percent at $4.5 million.
-- Employee salaries are funded at their current levels and benefits remain the same with no increase in employee contributions. Total salary and benefits costs for the county are about $36.6 million, a 2.5 percent decrease from the 2020 budget.
-- Expenditures decrease overall by 1.7 percent from the 2020 budget.
-- The budget includes continued funding from PEMA to complete the Emergency Communications interconnectivity project, Martin said.
-- Human Services at $29.65 million and Corrections at $13.73 million comprise more than half of general funds expenditures, with administration and judicial making up about 13 percent each.
-- The budget maintains general fund reserves of $7.5 million, or 10.87 percent.
Commissioner Mark Higgins commended Martin and his staff for their work on the budget.
"A lot of hard work went into it. I know we're running a deficit, but it's tough times right now. I appreciate what everyone has done to close that budget hole as much as possible," Higgins said.
Higgins told the board that two years ago he surveyed all 67 counties in Pennsylvania and found that fewer than a dozen had not had a real estate tax increase or property reassessment for as long as Centre County. He suspects that number is even lower now.
Chair Michael Pipe said that the county will face many changes and challenges in 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. As the vaccine rollout takes place and the county returns to a "new normal," Pipe knows that some financial impact will likely occur.
"I think it will be safe to say that the budget we adopt today will not be the same one that crosses the finish line in 2021," Pipe said.
Commissioner Steve Dershem commended Martin and his staff for getting another budget done without a property tax increase.
"Everyone has work so tirelessly to make this happen … I think it's remarkable that we've gone more than a decade now without a tax increase in county government and I want to thank everybody's hard work within the organization for that to be a reality," Dershem said.
The Centre County Board of Commissioners will meet at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan 5. The meeting will be held via Zoom and televised by C-NET.