Allegheny Township residents won’t have a property tax increase next year, marking the 11th consecutive year without an increase.

Township supervisors presented the preliminary 2021 budget Monday.

The budget includes a general fund of just under $4 million, along with about $335,000 allocated for debt service, $235,000 for the fire tax fund and $550,000 for the liquid fuels fund, according to the supervisors’ budget presentation.

Like most municipalities, Allegheny Township is grappling with lost revenue because of the covid-19 pandemic which, across the state, dramatically decreased revenue from income, property and other taxes.

Supervisors plan to cut some expenses for next year, unsure of how the pandemic will affect 2021 income.

“We really need to follow our budget this year and follow it closely,” said Greg Primm, township manager. “We wanted to make sure we presented a budget with no tax increase, but that’s also going to mean cutting expenses. …We still don’t know what’s going to happen with revenue next year.”

Among the revenue sources that declined, Primm said, was income from the state’s liquid fuels tax, which was likely down because fewer people were traveling and fewer cars were on the road during the covid-19 lockdown in the spring. Still, he noted the tax’s revenue is “better than what we thought it was going to be.”

The total assessed land value for the township also decreased slightly — for the first time in 10 years — by about $130,000 . The assessed value approved by the county for 2021, Primm said, is a little more than $94 million. This means the township will collect a little less money per mill in 2021 than it has in previous years.

Primm attributed the decreased land values to unsuccessful brick-and-mortar retail spaces in the township. In the past year, the vacant Kmart building on Hyde Park road was reassessed and valued for less, which Primm said was “a pretty big hit.”

The covid-19 pandemic likely played a role, he said.

“The county was shut down for four months,” he said. “There were no assessors out assessing.”

Primm predicted the decreased land value will cause a loss of revenue in 2021 of about $1,900.

“It’s a hit when we’re already off with other revenue, because of covid, to begin with,” he said. “It was just that proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.”

The tighter budget will likely prevent the township from taking on larger public works projects next year, Primm said, but that will provide an opportunity to focus on smaller projects that have been put off in recent years.

Primm said the township is planning to seal cracks along at least seven township roads, replace storm drains on five more and seal seven others. Work will continue on a few grant-funded projects, including upgrades to Tredway Trail and to Brown Road.

The budget plans for a 1.5% increase in police wages for the first year of a new collective bargaining agreement, which has not yet been ratified.

It also accounts for planned expenses in the department including a UTV for trail access, retrofits for three cruisers and computer equipment. The budget allows for the same complement of officers, consisting of 10 full-time employees and one vacant position to be filled in 2021.

The township has several steps planned to save tax dollars, including eliminating lease agreements on police cars, a switch to a less expensive electricity program, a change in accounting software and others.

Despite the pandemic, Primm projects 97% of real estate taxes will be collected next year. This year, collections for those taxes weren’t too far off normal levels, he said, likely because the township extended the deadline for penalties.

Revenue is expected in the form of a 9% fund balance moving into 2021, a cable franchise tax, services to the Municipal Authority of Allegheny Township and Oklahoma Borough and other sources. Those income sources are set to go toward road projects, police expenditures, a 0.5% health insurance increase and other expenses.

“Thanks to our foresight and the austerity programs that all of our departments did that got us out of debt — because how would we ever know that we were going to be facing what we faced in 2020?” Supervisor Kathy Starr said. “Had we still been paying our premium debt service, we would not have been able to fare nearly so well.”

A printed copy of the budget will be available at the municipal building for review for 20 days and will be finalized at the supervisors’ Dec. 14 meeting.

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