A potential 1-mill real estate tax increase in Reserve corresponds with the township’s negotiation this year of a new collective bargaining agreement.
“The reason for that is they have to be competitive with other departments,” township manager Jan Kowalski explained. “If they are not earning a similar salary to other departments, if we can’t compete on salary and benefits, we lose people or we don’t get applicants when we need to start a list.”
Residents could be subjected further to an 8% increase in water and sewer rates, primarily to keep pace with rising costs imposed by cooperative entities Alcosan and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, according to Kowalski.
She gave a presentation at the Nov. 18 board of commissioners meeting regarding the 2025 municipal budget. Commissioners subsequently voted to advertise the $2.68 million spending plan for public review, with the intention of voting on its adoption Dec. 16.
Under the proposal, the real estate tax rate would rise to 6.47 mills, meaning that the owner of a home with an assessed value of $94,700, the median for Reserve, would pay an additional $94.70 per year, or 26 cents per day.
The police agreement, which covers the next three years, provides for a 10% wage increase in 2025 and 3% increases in 2026 and 2027, while restoring full-family medical coverage, rather than single coverage only.
“We hope this new agreement will help to bring in more applicants for open positions and reduce turnover,” Kowalski, a certified public accountant, wrote in her message accompanying the proposed 2025 budget.
With a projected cost of $995,129, public safety accounts for 37.1% of the general fund budget for municipal operations. Public works expenditures are estimated at $515,513, or 19.2% of the budget, with the three-person department responsible for tasks including water and sewer department operations, winter snow removal and maintenance throughout the township.
“At this time last year, I said that by now, we wouldn’t be dealing with water and sewer,” Kowalski said, but a proposed transition of operation and maintenance to the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority was questioned by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
“They had to approve it, so we both decided to pull out of the agreement,” she explained. “The board and myself discussed where to go next, and we decided to recommit ourselves to keeping the water and sewer operations in-house for as long as we can.”
Kowalski and another township employee worked toward attaining certified water operator licenses, and she has received hers.
She noted that even with an 8% increase, Reserve’s water and sewer rates will be about 65% of those charged to customers by the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, which raised the cost of water purchased by the township. Alcosan similarly increased costs for sewage treatment.
To pare down expenditures, the township administrative office staff has been decreased from three to two full-time employees. For 2024, Reserve administrative salaries were 73% of the average administrative salaries of surrounding communities of similar population, according to the budget message.
The manager and secretary/treasurer handle all administrative tasks, including finance, payroll and benefits administration, project management, recreational events planning and execution, as well as all office functions of the water and sewer department.
Preparing grant applications is another staff undertaking, with the result of $503,420 awarded to the township this year:
• Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, $40,000 for Logan Street improvements and traffic calming.
• State Community Development Block Grants, $28,450 for paving on Troy and Magnolia streets; $110,630 for Electric Hill storm sewer improvements; and $23,350 for sanitary sewer lining on Ramage Road and Charlemma Drive.
• Alcosan Grow Grant, $100,900 to reduce inflow and infiltration in the sanitary sewer system.
• Local Share Account, $200,000 for Lonsdale Street/Emma Avenue sewer separation.
“We will continue to look for and apply for any grants we can find. It’s time-consuming,” Kowalski said. “They’re competitive, so you can’t guarantee you’re going to get it. But outside of tax revenue, that’s really our only revenue source.”
With the proposed real estate tax increase, Reserve would rank 63rd among the 130 municipalities in Allegheny County. By comparison, Millvale has a tax rate of 9.5 mills; Etna, 9 mills; and Shaler, 3.49 mills.
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“For every dollar of property tax next year, 66 cents of it will go to Shaler Area School District. Assuming the Allegheny County property tax increase is adopted,” Kowalski said about the extra 2.2 mills proposed by Executive Sara Innamorato, “18 cents will go to the county, and what’s left over for the township is 16 cents.”
The proposed budget for public inspection is available at reservetwp.com/2025-proposed-budget-for-public-inspection.