Ambler Borough Hall (Image courtesy of Google StreetView)
Wissahickon Now spoke with the borough manager to better understand the new budget.
Ambler Borough has presented its planned 2025 budget to the public for review. The budget comes with no tax increase for local residents, despite several improvements. Wissahickon Now took a deeper dive into the budget with Borough Manager Mary Aversa, to get a better understanding of the coming year’s finances.
In the 2025 budget, the borough aims to replace a 2019 Dodge vehicle on the police force. It also includes funds to upgrade the sidewalk to the police department’s entrance. Additionally, funds have been set aside to repair the Tannery Run Culvert at Race and North Spring Garden streets.
Other planned improvements in the coming year include pedestrian space along Hendricks, Mount Pleasant, Haywood Park, and North Spring Garden areas, improved access to the Wissahickon School District, and a new skid steer for the highway department.
What’s an ‘RF 100 Green’ program?
Listed as an Administration cost, the “RF 100 Green” line item saw an uptick from 2022, 2023, and 2024 budgets. Previous years were listed as $1,480, $2,843, and $1,380 respectively, it seemed a massive jump to see the 2025 budget set aside $50,000.
“This is a grant for energy audit and possible energy efficient upgrades through the “MORE” program,” said Aversa.
The PA-DEP MORE Grant Program offered the borough $50,000 to pay for a “Level 2 Energy Audit, energy conservation measure design services” including owner’s representative support through a Guaranteed Energy Savings (GESA) program, and/or development of a MORE Loan application. Grant funds can also be used to buy down the interest rate on a MORE Loan to fund implementation.
MORE Grant application were performed by SSM under the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC). The Proposal focused on a “Level 2 Energy Audit of the Ambler Borough Hall and Wastewater Treatment Plant, including a solar PV feasibility study.”
Changes in Salary
When it comes to salary, the borough is projecting spending less money in 2025 than in 2024. Aversa said that the slight change (from around $223,000 to $211,000) is due to a finance position.
“Our finance manager left for a new position, and we are working with a contracted hourly professional,” the manager explained. This position was a higher salary cost than expected, however, the borough saw saving in benefits, as the contractor is not a full-time, benefit-offered position.
In 2025, the salary is budgeted for $185,100 to cover costs.
Minor Equipment
Sometimes a budget is filled with so many line items it can be confusing to decipher each and every item. Vague listings can cause concern to residents, who may not be aware of what the spending is for exactly. For example, one item under Administration in the borough’s proposed budget was simply listed as “Minor Equipment,” yet is listed for a cost of $10,000.
“This is for a potential upgrade to our Council meeting room speaker system,” said Aversa.
More Expensive Police?
Another line item that showed a significant increase over prior year was for the Borough’s police force. Currently, the department’s salaries are listed to go from 2024’s $1.4 million to a projected $1.9 million in 2025.
Aversa said that this increase is really showing a more actual figure than the prior year’s budget estimated. The actual figure in 2024 was in fact $1,850,263 for police salaries and benefits. In 2025, the projected cost is $1,908,900, an approximate $58,000 increase, which is based on contractual raises in salary, as well as increased health costs.
Borough Crossing Guards
The Borough currently supplies seven locations for crossing guards. These positions are put in place to ensure the safety of school children crossing major roadways.
“We currently have seven crossing guards and one substitute,” said Aversa. “The shifts vary based on when the bus arrives. It is typically a 30- to 40-minute shift twice a day.”
The cost of these roles, from 2024 to 2025 is estimated to go up. In 2024, the budget was set at $90,673 for the positions. In 2025, an estimated $102,300 is included.
“It increased last year due to the addition of another stop at Hendricks Street and Mount Pleasant Avenue,” said Aversa. “There has been an increase over the past few years in the number of children walking to school, and that is a very busy intersection, so a crossing guard was added to make sure they have safe access to school.”
Aversa added that the cost of crossing guards includes the salaries and uniforms of the workers. At the end of the year, the cost of the program is totaled up and split between the Borough and the Wissahickon School District. For this year, the crossing guards are positioned at:
What happens now?
Wissahickon Now asked its questions, and now it is your turn. The public is invited to review and weigh in on the Borough’s proposed budget ahead of a vote to make it “official.”
The Ambler Borough Council has not yet voted on the approval of this 2025 proposed budget. It is a rather “rough draft” presented to the community for open discussion and dialogue.
The Borough hosted its first public budget meeting on Dec. 3 ahead of its Committee Meeting. There will be additional meetings for public comment on:
Council will then consider the adoption of the 2025 proposed budget at its Tuesday, Dec. 17 meeting at 7 p.m. at Ambler Borough Hall. All are welcome to attend the special budget meetings to offer opinions during public comment. All meetings will be held at Borough Hall, 131 Rosemary Ave., in Ambler.
Copies of the budget are also available for public inspection from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ambler Branch of the Wissahickon Public Library, 209 Race St., in Ambler. A draft of the budget is also online here.
For more information, or if you are a person with a disability and wish to attend, or require auxiliary aid, service, or accommodation, please contact Borough Manager Mary Aversa at 215-646-1000.
