West Chester Borough solves deficit, trash

In front of a packed house, the West Chester Borough Council voted Dec. 15 to revise the 2011 budget overcoming a $1.5 million deficit by raising taxes 20.1 percent.

Council will meet on Dec. 28 at 6:30 p.m. to approve both the tax hike and the revised budget.

Going into the meeting on Dec. 15 there were still questions about how the council would cover the deficit, and more specifically, how it would pay for trash hauling.

Council president Holly Brown said there were a lot of options on the table, but she then added, "one way or another we're going to start charging for trash."

Many residents objected to the council's proposed bag program that would charge residents a fee of four dollars per trash bag left on the curb for pickup.

Another proposal would charge residents a fee to place stickers on their trashcans, authorizing haulers to take the garbage.

Council members also talked about a monthly or quarterly trash fee that would alleviate the cost of waste hauling.

The estimated cost for each of these programs was in the $150 per year range.

Ultimately council decided it would raise property taxes to cover the costs. 

"We're not hard-hearted," Brown said.  "We understand that that's a lot of money for people, but we have a $1.5 million deficit.  We have to do it."

According to borough manager Ernie McNeely the increased tax rate would raise the average property tax bill in the borough by $100.

"That's still a lot of money," Brown said.  "But it's still cheaper than any of the other plans."

The borough made several other major changes to cover costs, most had to do with parking.

The borough will now charge money to park in garages on Saturdays, and parking meters will now be enforced until 10p.m. everyday except on Sundays.