No tax hike in Harrison Township; budget delayed as township officials quarantined for covid-19

Harrison Commissioners plan to adopt a 2021 budget later than usual this year because several township officials have been sidelined by covid-19 quarantines over the past month.

The commissioners will vote on the proposed budget, which does not include a tax increase, during their Dec. 30 meeting via the Zoom online platform. It will begin with a 1 p.m. public hearing on the township’s comprehensive plan with Brackenridge and Tarentum, followed by the commissioners’ meeting at 1:30 p.m.

The proposed $4.8 million budget for 2021 is 3.5% less than this year’s $4.97 million spending plan. The township real estate tax rate would remain 5.1 mills, township manager Rich Hill said.

Although there was nothing unusual in the budget next year, Hill said, the budget process itself was a few days off because township officials were in covid-19 quarantines starting in November.

The township canceled the commissioners’ November meeting as a result. Two of the commissioners were quarantined for covid-19, said Hill, who would not release further details because of federal health privacy laws.

“I didn’t we think we would have a quorum, and we didn’t want to let anyone into the building, so we decided to cancel,” he said.

Typically municipal governments pass a preliminary budget in November and adopt the final budget in December.

Hill said he contracted the virus, as well, adding to the slower-than-usual budget process.

The state requires municipal budgets to be passed by Dec. 31, and Harrison will make the deadline, he said.

The budget is posted on the township’s website for public inspection.

The township is in compliance with state requirements for the 2021 budget, township solicitor Emily Mueller said. The budget has been advertised, council will adopt it by the end of the year and the proposed budget has been available for public inspection, although it might be off a day or two, she said.

It appears the budget has been available to the public online since Dec. 16 or later because worksheets posted online are dated for Dec. 16. The township is required to provide at least 20 days for public inspection required for final adoption, said Melissa Melewsky, media law council for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.

Mueller believes the 20-day timeframe is a directive and not mandatory. Melewsky disagrees.

Although the township opens itself to a legal challenge over the 20-day timeframe, Melewsky said, a challenge is unlikely.

“Given the circumstances during the pandemic, this has been an extraordinary year,” she said, “and it makes everyone’s life more difficult — including elected officials and the people they serve.”