Diane P . Heming - Director

The Municipality of Murrysville has continued to provide excellent services to the residents without the need for any type of tax increase . The current millage rate of 12.15 mills has been constant since 2006 . Revenues continue to grow at approximately 2.5 to 3 % annually and hard work by dedicated staff work to keep operating expenses in line with these revenues while maintaining and improving infrastructures , services and parks .

Items completed by the Finance department in 2016 :

• The 2015 financial audit was prepared in accordance with GASB 34 requirements with no material findings . In mid- February of 2017 , the fieldwork will begin for the 2016 Financial Statement audit .

• The 2017-2021 Capital Improvements Program ($ 13,675,670 ) and the 2017 Operating Budget ($ 13,477,627 ) were both approved with tax millage and service levels staying constant . A five year budget plan was completed for all of the funds and presented along with the 2017 Operating Budget .

• The assessed value of property within the Municipality is established by Westmoreland County and for 2017 is $ 337,691,040 . This is an increase of 1.34 % over 2016 .

• The 2017 estimated value of one mill in tax revenue to the Municipality is $ 332,000 .

• Real estate tax collections accounts for 33 % of total revenues while local taxes , including earned income , per capita and local services taxes account for 44 % of the total revenues .

• In total , $ 632,000 was transferred into the Capital Reserve Fund during 2016 . $ 332,000 was transferred from current revenues and $ 300,000 was from the Unreserved General Fund Balance . Both transfers will be held in the Capital Reserve Fund for future capital projects .

• An additional $ 100,000 was used to purchase land to be used as a trail head for the Rails to Trails project passing through Murrysville .

• The 2016 Minimum Municipal Pension Obligation was calculated using the 2015 Valuation ; therefore , costs remained consistent with 2015 . The 2015 Actuarial Valuation for both plans reported improved investment returns and lower costs . This increased the assets in both plans and brought the funding level for the Police Pension Plan to 103 % funded and the Non-Uniform Plan to 98.6 % funded . Both 2015 and 2016 pension obligations were considerably lower than prior years because of this fully funded valuation .

• The Director of Finance continues to be an active Board Member of the County-wide Tax Collection Committee , which oversees all earned income tax collections for Westmoreland County .

• Scanning of all pertinent files continues with all off-site storage eliminated at this time . The project is on schedule to eventually have all permanent documents such as financial data , building plans and permits , Ordinances , Resolutions , Policies and Procedures scanned and easily accessible to staff while all permanent documents will be safely stored off site .

• The Administrative staff bathrooms were updated with new flooring , fixtures and paint .

• Renovations to the Community Center were completed in late summer with the help of Public Works , the Custodian and Administrative staff . These included updating both bathrooms , creating a new serving area with cabinetry and more usable counter space , fresh paint , new window coverings , updated lighting , and new flooring . In addition , a new gravel parking lot and rear entrance with handicapped parking was installed . It is the hope of the Municipality that the renovations will give the Center a more welcoming look and attract area businesses to rent the space for larger meetings and retreats as well as appeal to a wider group of people looking to rent space for a special occasion .