Hatboro Holding 2024 Budget Presentation Wednesday

HATBORO, PA —After approving a $115 municipal tax hike this year, the Hatboro Borough Council will outline its budget plans for next year.

The Borough Council will hold its 2024 Budget Workshop meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Loller Academy on 414 S. York Rd.

Residents are encouraged to attend to provide feedback on the proposed 2024 operating budget.

During this meeting, the council will review the proposed budget line by line, delivering a presentation on the budget, and budgeting practices utilized by department heads in formulating the budget requests.

The development of the proposed budget is a process that takes months to perform, borough officials said.

Borough department heads and council members review projected income and expenditures for the upcoming calendar year to formulate a conservative operating budget that enables the borough to continue providing high-quality services to residents and business owners, officials said.

Last December, the council adopted its 2023 $7.56 million municipal budget, which brought a $115 tax increase —or $9.58 a month —for a homeowner with a property assessed at $136,708.

Once the Budget Workshop takes place, the budget presentation from Borough Staff will be available on the Borough website for review and the preliminary operating budget will be placed on the Nov. 27, 2023 council agenda for consideration.

Once the preliminary adoption of the 2024 operating budget takes place, there will be a public inspection period for residents to review the budget, provide comments, and offer feedback before the council adopting the budget at its Dec. 18 meeting.

Due to the increased risk of cybercrime and cybersecurity attacks against municipalities over the last few years, the borough does not post its entire detailed operating budget online; however, summary sheets for the 2023 budget are available on the borough website for review.

The sheets break down the budget into different categories (administration, police, public works, etc.) and include the percentage of the operating budget for each category. Detailed copies of all previous operating budgets reflecting individual line items for each department are available for review at Borough Hall (temporarily located at 130 Spring Avenue) during business hours.

Anyone with questions about the budget or who cannot attend the meeting should contact borough staff at 215-443-9100 or via email at dhegele@myhatboro.org.