Last month West Chester Borough Council held a hearing on, and then tabled the 2024 municipal budget discussion until they have the details of the new re-negotiated police contract. Hopefully they have those now because the hearing is scheduled for Monday at 6:30 p.m.

As presented, the $35.7 million budget for 2024 came in roughly $200,000 higher than this year’s budget and would require a modest three percent real estate tax increase cover. (Expect that to change depending on where the police contract lands.) It also includes a series of still largely undiscussed capital projects. These two dozen or so projects represent what the Borough would like to accomplish over the following year. 

Here are some of the highlights: 

Solar Canopy at Borough Hall – $10,000. The canopy, which will be installed in the Borough Hall parking lot, will be complete with EV charging infrastructure allowing the Borough administration to convert more of its fleet to solar. According to Treehugger.com (don’t let the name distract you), parking lot canopies not only generate energy but help protect vehicles from the elements. Win. Win. 

K-9 Officer – $15,000. It looks like West Chester is well on its way to getting a police dog. While the police department didn’t want to talk about their new officer until he or she was fully trained, Lt. Josh Lee shared earlier this year the ultimate goal of introducing a canine in 2024 and 2025. According to budgeting documents, the program began in 2023. Next year’s funds are to cover the acquisition and training of the dog as well as the upfitting of a designated K-9 vehicle. It is unclear why the department decided to pursue a police dog program. Both West Chester University and the Sheriff’s Office maintain canine units.   

New Jet/Vacuum Combo Truck – $130,000. This fun vehicle, which just passed the quarter-century mark, is used for the emergency maintenance of the Borough’s storm and sanitary sewers. If the vehicle is not replaced, the Borough will be subject to expensive hourly rental fees. This purchase is being split between multiple departments.  

Gay Street Closure – $55,000. As you’ll remember, this summer the Borough received a $678,000 grant from the county to help finance infrastructure improvements required to close Gay Street safely. This should cover part of the required match. Just don’t expect too much in the way of action next year  – the money has been earmarked for “survey, design, and bid.” Construction is not expected to begin until 2025.

Park Master Plan – $65,000. This one has been a long time coming. The Borough has been talking about the need for a master plan for the parks for years. Well, next year looks like the year we finally get one. A lot is riding on this plan including the role and future of each of West Chester’s 12 parks. 

Parking signs – $180,000. Signs don’t come cheap. West Chester is looking to upgrade signage directing visitors to the Borough’s garages, parking lots, and points of interest. Thankfully, Chester County Tourism is taking care of two of them. 

New license plate readers – $90,000. This idea was getting a lot of love at last night’s public hearing for the new Parking Ordinance – which passed by a vote of six to one. (You can find the highlights of what was changed here.) The new license plate readers will integrate with the Parking Department’s enforcement software to quickly identify non-permit holders and other enforcement issues. 

Also on the docket for 2024 – upfitting two new police vehicles ($40,000), new employee workstations ($20,000), a fence at Mosteller Park ($10,000), security lighting at Veteran’s Memorial Park ($5,000), a gazebo pathway at Everhart Park ($5,000), new light-duty trucks for the West Chester Fire Department leadership ($176,800), new garage floors (Bicentennial), surveillance cameras and lighting (Chestnut Street and Bicentennial) ($183,454) and more “multispacer” parking meters ($130,000)

You can find the complete list of projects here. And more on the full budget picture here.

Note: The above list does not include wastewater or stormwater management projects. Since both are essentially self-funded – Waste Water through monthly service fees and stormwater management through the stream protection fee – we can look at these separately at a later date. 

Originally published, Nov. 17, 2023

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