Borough Budget

Two years ago, Pottstown Council selected a Cincinnati consulting firm -- Management Partners Inc. -- to help the borough get a handle on its finances with a goal of attaining long-term financial stability. Management Partners reported that unless steps are taken to control costs, the borough will have to raise real estate taxes 75 percent over the next five years to balance its budget. Indeed, the borough raised taxes 9.8 percent for the 2010 budget and more than 3 percent in 2011.

The first step to controlling costs is a comprehensible budget.

As then- Gov. Rendell said last year to the state legislature, "crafting the budget is the single most important thing that we do for our fellow citizens. It’s the fundamental task of governing: setting priorities, making choices that are often difficult but necessary, and allocating resources...."

For decades, Pottstown's budget has been a jumble. The budget has not clearly enumerated the various departments that make up borough government.  It has not explained what each department does.

It has not listed the people each department employs, or their job description, or how many hours they work, or what they are paid. It has not broken down the non-personnel expenses of each department.

Pottstown developed a budget for 2009 that was an improvement over previous budgets. For the first time, for example, the budget compared expenditures with the previous year. The borough regressed in 2010. This year's budget is better, but not nearly as detailed and reader-friendly as it should be.

It is impossible for Pottstown Borough Council, or anyone else, to make wise decisions if it does not have a comprehensible budget.

Everything flows from the budget.  Budget reform should be Pottstown’s
No. 1 priority.

To view the 2011 borough budget, click here.

To view the 2010 borough budget, click here.

To view the 2009 borough budget, click here.

To view the 2008 borough budget, click here.