The Kennett Township Board of Supervisors voted to advertise a preliminary version of the 2020 budget Wednesday night that contains a temporary tax increase to fund construction of the new library and also a sewer rate increase for some residents and businesses.

It also contains suggestions to hold public meetings next year to develop, including a capital plan for operations, a sewer rate structure, and an open space management plan.

The supervisors will formally adopt the budget at a Dec. 30 meeting.

The preliminary budget presented Wednesday was the culmination of more than 700 hours of work by the township staff over 60 days and input during seven public meetings to create a budget “from the bottom up,” according to township Manager Eden Ratliff.

In his written budget presentation, Ratliff wrote that since the investigation of suspected financial irregularities in the township’s financial accounts, “it became clear that the finances of the township were managed in a way that did not allow for a comprehensive understanding of the fiscal health of the township nor the true cost to operate the township and deliver government services.”

The 2020 general fund does not contain a tax increase for operational expenses. It does contain a surplus of $149,396 that Ratliff recommended the supervisors do nothing with so it could be used down the road “to target fund balances, reserve balances, and a capital plan.”

In the library fund budget, there is a temporary tax increase of 0.15 mils to help fund the construction of the new Kennett Library. The increase – on top of the dedicated library tax of 0.2 mils – would remain for approximately six years until the township has collected the approximately $750,000 the library board is requesting from Kennett Township.

According to Ratliff, it amounts to an average cost of $36.48 for taxpayers.

The library board had asked the township to contribute about $241,000 over three years. During public budget discussions, the board seemed in favor of paying $125,000 over a six-year period. The temporary increase would raise $117,000 a year, according to budget documents. The preliminary budget also included $8,000 from the general fund to make up the difference. But that $8,000 transfer was something the supervisors said they would prefer not to happen.

Any tax increase would need to be authorized by a tax resolution on Dec. 30 before it could go into effect, according to Ratliff.

In the sewer fund, the proposed rate increase would close the operating deficit and leave a net surplus of $2,100 in the sewer operating fund. It would affect 41 commercial and 593 residential customers, potentially starting with the first-quarter sewer bills and would mean an average per-year increase of $2,200 for commercial customers and $99 for residential customers.

According to finance director Amy Heinrich, the current rates are $75 for the first 5,000 gallons per quarter and $11 per 1,000 gallons for anything over 5,000 gallons. The recommended increase would affect usage over 5,000 gallons and raise the rate to $15 per 1,000 gallons.

With the open space fund, there is a deficit in the preliminary budget of $376,600. The 2020 open space fund would allocate grant matches totaling $650,000, $134,200 for debt service payments, and $102,600 to The Land Conservancy, according to budget documents.

One of the suggestions by Ratliff is to hold public hearings “on the development of an open space management plan and develop a strategy for funding.”

Determining what the open space funds can and cannot be spent is something the township is working on. Earlier in the meeting supervisors approved a motion to hire the law firm of Salzmann Hughes to advise them on permitted open space expenditures and other open-space related matters.

Budget documents, including the preliminary budget, can be found on the township’s website.