The Borough of Tarentum has released its Proposed 2027 Municipal Budget, along with the Borough Manager’s Budget Message and Narrative, for public review. These documents provide residents with an overview of the Borough’s financial position, anticipated revenues and expenditures, proposed investments, and priorities for the coming year. The Manager’s Narrative offers additional context on the decisions, challenges, and long-term planning considerations that shaped the proposed budget.
New for 2027: Interactive Budget Explorer
As part of our continued commitment to transparency, public engagement, and financial accessibility, the Borough is introducing a new Interactive Budget Explorer.
This online tool goes beyond simply displaying financial information. It allows residents to explore the Borough’s proposed budget and experiment with their own budget decisions to better understand the challenges and trade-offs involved in managing municipal finances.
Using interactive charts and adjustable sliders, residents can explore different financial scenarios and see how their decisions affect the overall budget.
The Budget Explorer allows users to:
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Explore Borough finances: Review revenues, expenditures, and how resources are allocated across municipal departments and services.
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Build your own budget scenarios: Use interactive sliders to adjust funding levels and explore different financial priorities.
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See the impact of tax decisions: Understand how changes to tax rates affect available revenue and the Borough’s financial position.
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Explore staffing and service costs: See how changes in personnel and operating expenses influence the budget.
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Understand savings and reserves: Examine how spending decisions affect the Borough’s ability to maintain financial reserves and prepare for future needs.
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Experience real-world tradeoffs: Discover how increasing spending in one area, reducing revenues, or maintaining lower taxes can affect other services and the Borough’s long-term financial stability.
The goal is not simply to show residents where public funds go, but to help them better understand why municipal budgeting requires balancing competing priorities, essential services, infrastructure needs, affordability, and long-term financial responsibility.
The Interactive Budget Explorer is an educational and public engagement tool. Adjustments made by residents are hypothetical and do not change the Borough’s official proposed budget.
Review the Proposed 2027 Budget
Residents are encouraged to explore the following resources:
The proposed budget remains subject to review and final adoption by Borough Council.
The Borough believes that an informed public is essential to effective local government. By making financial information more accessible and giving residents an opportunity to explore the decisions behind municipal budgeting, we hope to encourage greater understanding, transparency, and meaningful public engagement.
We encourage residents to explore the budget, experiment with different scenarios, and see firsthand the choices involved in managing their local government.
