3. Pay off one emergency equipment loan that was used to purchase two fire trucks

4. Pay off the 2012 General Obligation Note with S & T Bank.

The remaining funds of approximately $ 2,000,000 will be used to:

1. Purchase fire equipment according to the Emergency Equipment

Replacement Schedule 2. Complete various road improvements 3. Improvements to Murrysville Community Park

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In total, $ 1,050,000 was transferred into the Capital Reserve Fund during 2017. $ 500,000 was transferred from current revenues and $ 550,000 was from the Unreserved General Fund Balance.

$ 250,000 of the current revenues was placed in the Road and Bridge Reserve for future road projects.

Another $ 250,000 from current revenues was deposited into the Central Recreation Fund for future park development.

$ 150,000 was used to purchase the Bailey Property, located on Reed Boulevard. The remaining $ 400,000 will be held in reserve for future capital projects.

Total real estate tax collections accounts for 27 % of total General Fund revenues while local taxes, including earned income, per capita and local services taxes account for 55 % of the total revenues.

Earned income has surpassed real estate tax collections as the largest revenue source for the General Fund. Real estate taxes are increasing as a rate of one percent( 1 %) or less each year while earned income and other local taxes continue to increase anywhere from two to four percent depending on the type of tax being analyzed.

Expenses remained virtually consistent with 2016 although there were some line items such as Police overtime, Public Works salt supplies, utilities, repairs and maintenance that fluctuated from the norm. The Police Department had numerous personnel absences that accounted for the higher than normal overtime costs. Milder winter weather saved the salt and antiskid line item. Greater attention to basic building repairs and timely renovations explains the higher maintenance costs for all buildings.

Two full time employees retired during the year which contributed to lower salaries and benefits in both the Building Maintenance and Engineering Departments.

The 2017 Minimum Municipal Pension Obligation was calculated using the 2015 Valuation and therefore costs remained consistent with 2016. The 2015 Actuarial Valuation for both plans reported improved investment returns and lower costs. This increased the

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assets in both plans and brought the funding level for the Police Pension Plan 103 % funded and the Non-Uniform Plan to 98.6 % funded. Both 2016 and 2017 pension obligations were considerably lower than prior years because of this valuation.

Many municipalities in PA struggle with unfunded pension liabilities. This is not the case in Murrysville. Both of our pension funds are 100 % funded due to good investment decisions, fiscal controls and a Pension Committee that functions extremely well.

Director of Finance continues to be an active Board Member of the County-wide Tax Collection Committee which oversees all earned income tax collections for Westmoreland County.

Scanning of all pertinent files continues with all off-site storage eliminated at this time. To date all ordinances, resolutions, policies and procedures, permanent financial data such as audits, financial statements, fixed assets, and pension files have been scanned and are easily accessible to staff while all permanent documents will be safely stored off site. Future plans focus on scanning Recreation, Engineering and Administration files such as contracts etc. Scanned Planning files are now being organized into categories and years so that development files such as building plans, stormwater and utilities plans, occupancy permits, and maps will be easily available. In addition, the scanned files will be linked to the Geoplan software utilized by the Community Development Department. Accessibility is key to good planning and Murrysville is well situated in this area.

The Administrative staff oversaw the installation of new flooring in the administrative areas of the Library and the hallways around the Police Station.

Stephanie Hallman was hired in late August as an Administrative Assistant.

With the retirement of the Building custodian, the administration decided to contract with an outside vendor to provide this service. The vendor is local and is responsible for the cleaning of all the municipal public structures, park bathrooms and the Roberts’ Trailhead located near the Duff Bikeway on the Heritage Trail.

Renovations to the Community Center included updating both bathrooms; creating a new serving area with cabinetry and more usable counter space; fresh paint, new window coverings, updated lighting and new flooring were completed recently. In addition, a new gravel parking lot and rear entrance with handicapped parking was installed. These renovations have given the Center a more welcoming look and the facility is now a highly sought after venue for business meetings, as well as special family events and parties.

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