'Unexpected' $6.9 Million Changes Lower Merion's Budget Outlook

Lower Merion's is getting $6.9 million in "unexpected" tax revenue this year, Lower Merion Township Manager Doug Cleland told the Board of Commissioners in a memo in advance of Wednesday's Finance Committee meeting.

Cleland's memo, posted on the township's website as part of the meeting agenda (and attached to this article as a PDF), explains that tax-obligation disputes settled after the preliminary budget was submitted Oct. 21 amount to about $6.9 million, which would put commissioners in the position of having too much money in their general fund, per township regulations. Cleland suggests working with the Finance Committee to plan how to alleviate that.

The Main Line Times reported Monday that Ward 2 Commissioner Jenny Brown is proposing $6.9 million in tax rebates in lieu of spending the newfound money.

The 2012 budget calls for residents to receive no tax-rate increase, after the 2011 budget featured a 10.8 percent increase.