COLUMBIA, Pa. — Columbia Borough Council spent much of Thursday’s workshop going line by line through the 2027 budget, cutting big-ticket projects to keep its capital account from going into the red.
The draft capital budget would have left the account about $118,000 in the negative, a council member said. “How can we responsibly pass a budget that has us going negative by $120,000?” the member asked.
Council talked through cuts, including:
- A $75,000 backup generator for the borough building
- Repairs to the tower clock
- Cutting planned park security cameras from about $30,000 to about $10,000
Those changes would bring the gap down to about $43,000, and members said some of the Bridge Avenue project costs will likely carry into 2028, which could close the rest.
Members agreed the borough needs a five- to 10-year capital plan so projects that get pushed off aren’t forgotten.
Police also explained a proposal to switch to Axon body cameras with cloud storage, at about $50,000 a year under a five-year agreement. Police said the current camera server is full and several cameras have failed.
Codes enforcement
Council members agreed the borough needs more code enforcement and favored making a part-time code compliance job full-time.
“If we want to be honest with ourselves about making a difference in codes,” a council member said, the borough needs more people on it. Another said code enforcement “pays for itself more so than almost any other position.”
A council member also said unpaid bills for rental and new-tenant inspections have “gotten completely out of hand,” and asked staff to collect payment before inspections and check that landlords are paid up before renewing rental registrations.
A resident said Columbia had about 1,800 registered rentals in the 1980s and only about 350 now, and urged the borough to go block by block to find unregistered ones. A council member said finding them is hard without violating residents’ rights, but parking tickets and vehicle registrations often reveal them.
In brief
- Home of Hope: The board president of Our Home of Hope, a nonprofit personal care home on Cherry Street, asked for $7,600 for security cameras and new dining room chairs.
- Disaster fund: Pastor Martha Harris of St. Paul’s, president of the Greater Columbia Ministerium, told council about the ministerium’s fund for disaster victims and its new guidelines. Residents may donate.
- Parks and rec spending: Council members raised concerns about oversight of the parks and recreation board’s account and asked for a breakdown before Tuesday.
- Leaf collection: Curbside brown-bag yard waste pickup ends next week. Leaf collection continues through Dec. 11.
Council’s next meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m.