Aspinwall Council added new members and new leadership to start the new year. Mayor Joseph Noro swore in newcomers Mark Chimel II and Louis Curcio Jr. to their first four-year terms at a reorganization meeting Jan. 2. Incumbent Heth Turnquist was sworn in to his second term on council. He
Aspinwall emergency responders could soon be in line for a tax break.
Council is considering a special tax credit for fire and EMS volunteers that would slash up to $300 from their Earned Income Tax (EIT) or cut 20% from property taxes.
“This is a new initiative that the borough doesn’t currently offer,” Manager Melissa Lang-O’Malley said.
The move is a way to recognize the service of emergency responders, council members said during its most recent meeting.
“We’ve been talking about it for awhile now and it’s time to move on it,” Councilmember Marcia Cooper said.
The credit is for nonpaid responders only, and responders would have to apply for it every year.
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Aspinwall officials are crediting a strong housing market for helping to maintain the property tax rate in 2021, despite increased spending and pandemic impacts.
Aspinwall Council approved the borough’s $2.8 million budget, which holds the real estate tax rate at 6.86 mills.
The owner of a home assessed at $100,000 will again pay $686 to the borough in property tax.
Residents also pay 19.86 mills in Fox Chapel Area School District taxes, which is $1,986 on a home assessed at $100,000.
Manager Melissa Lang-O’Malley said personnel costs rose this year due to negotiated pay increases and that she expects slight increases in other typical borough expenses.
Jan Pakler | For the Tribune-Review
Aspinwall council is studying the safety of Freeport Road and its uses by pedestrians, mass transit and bikers.
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Aspinwall council hopes to implement safety initiatives along Freeport Road in 2021 that could include upgraded bus shelters, bike sharrows and increased parking.
The plan would follow some of the many recommendations derived from a 2019 TranSystems study, paid for by a near $13,000 grant from Allegheny County.
The list of recommendations was so extensive that it outweighs council’s ability to implement them all, but board president Tim McLaughlin asked for a list that is doable in spring.