Kennett Township’s 2024 budget could include costs to insource larger public works projects.

“This is a paradigm shift from what we’ve been,” Amy Heinrich, the township’s finance director and treasurer, said at the supervisors’ Sept. 20 meeting.

Wednesday marked the first of several budget discussions through the rest of the year. The next meeting, on Oct. 4, will look at the operating budget, while the Oct. 18 meeting will look at both operating and capital, according to Heinrich. On Nov. 1, the supervisors are expected to decide the tax rates, and on Dec. 6 they are expected to formally approve the budget and review the five-year capital plan.

She explained that the current public works department focuses on maintenance, while the goal is to transform it into more of a construction-capable department by adding more specialized equipment and staff. “In lieu of traditional outsourcing, we recommend buying equipment and adding staff to accomplish at much lower cost. This will enable many types of critical projects and maintenance efforts needed as our infrastructure continues to age.”

New projects could include taking over the monitoring and maintenance of pump stations from Kennett Borough, replacing damaged pipes or culverts before they become bigger problems, and improving drainage and sight distance, among other things.

“We’ve been maintenance, and all large projects are outsourced to engineers and external contractors,” Heinrich said. But with Public Works Director Ted Otteni’s qualifications as a licensed professional engineer, “he can serve a lot of those oversight roles.”

Otteni showed pictures of a damaged culvert on Hillendale Road near Hidden Pond.

“This is an example of a culvert in need of repair,” he said. “It’s going to lead to larger problems in the very near future.”

Another picture was of a culvert on Davenport Road with a rotted-out bottom.

“We need to replace these things,” Otteni said. “Traditionally these things are outsourced.”

But with more insourcing, he added, “we could do it quicker and more cost-effective.”

In part of her budget presentation, Heinrich showed the difference in costs that could be available. For instance, replacing the second half of the Davenport Road pipe could cost $360,000 to outsource, compared to $50,000 if done in-house. Drainage improvements on McFarlan Road from Hillendale to Rosedale roads could be $170,000 if outsourced and $120,000 if insourced by the public works department.

To make the “paradigm shift,” capital costs from 2023-2025 would include a new skid steer, trailer, backhoe, 10-wheel dump truck, a Hydradig, and an addition to the salt shed, according to Heinrich. The five-year capital cost is expected to be $690,000.

More information about the proposed in-sourcing and the capital project priorities can be found at kennett.pa.us, under the Public Meeting Documents section (in Government).