By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer

As Kennett Township begins to prepare its 2026 budget, it served as the front-and-center subject at the Sept. 17 Board of Supervisors meeting, when the board and township staff discussed top priorities for spending and a list of capital budget requests for the coming year.

The presentation, chaired by Director of Finance and Human Relations Amy Heinrich, spelled out 2026 spending priorities for the township’s police and public works departments, as well as reviewed other anticipated expenditures for the new year.

The requested purchases total $978,000 from the township’s general capital fund. 

To replace one of its outdated vehicles, the police department is requesting the purchase of a replacement police vehicle, estimated at $60,000; a taser 10, which will replace the department’s taser 2 technology – a model about to go out of service - and enhance the department’s ability to apprehend subjects with decreased risk to both officers and the subjects, estimated at $11,000 a year for the next five years; and a drone equipped with infrared heat detection, estimated at $10,000, that if purchased would be used by the police and public works departments.

Police Chief Matt Gordon told the board that his top priority heading into the new year would be the purchase of the new vehicle, followed by the acquisition of a drone.

The Public Works Department is requesting the purchase of a new six-wheel, ten-ton dump truck, estimated at $240,000, that would replace a 2006 truck; a new road bank mower with a boom to replace the department’s existing 1998 road bank mower, estimated at $220,000; a street sweeper attachment, estimated at $28,000; and a lift with wheels to be used for tree removals, light replacement and other projects, estimated at $118,000.

“The lift that we would buy would allow us to go up to 60, 70 or 80 feet, and it would help facilitate going down our residential streets that need trees to be cut back,” said Public Works Director Ted Otteni.  

Additional township projects

While the township prepares to spend the next few months hammering out its 2026 budget, it currently has other priorities that require attention later this year and in 2026, particularly in the area of drainage and stormwater management – projects that are and will be completed by the township’s Public Works department. They include drainpipe replacement projects on Davenport and McFarlan roads, which have either been completed or are in progress. In addition, culvert replacements have been installed on Chandler Mill, Yorktown, Williams and Balmoral roads.

Heinrich told the board that the township is saving money by using its own staff and not outsourcing work to contractors.

“The amount of money we save [by doing these projects in house] is tremendous,” Heinrich said, “so what we’ve done for the current year and for 2026 is to earmark $100,000 for all of the materials, rentals and anything else that would be needed to get these projects done, but use our staff to do it.”

Heinrich discussed the planned redesign and construction of the Five-points intersection, that plans for the development of left turn lanes and a new traffic signal system. The design – which is projected to cost the township $105,00 for 2025 and 2026 - will take place during the remainder of the year and into 2026, and construction is scheduled to begin in 2027. Heinrich said that the Public Works department may be involved with the construction of the new intersection. 

Heinrich said that other projects underway include analysis of other traffic light and intersection improvements throughout the township, and several paving projects, budgeted at $876,000, that are expected to take place over the next three years. Lastly, the township is requesting the purchase of two replacement servers, priced at $25,000 each.

The township is scheduling several public meetings as it works its way toward approving next year’s budget. Heinrich, the board and department heads will meet on Oct. 8 to present an overall review of the township’s operating budget which will be followed by a presentation on Oct. 22 that will discuss the township’s full operating and capital budget, as well as sewer and open space funds and the planned development of a new police facility. A public meeting on Nov. 5 will invite the board to make final decisions on the budget and determine a real estate tax millage rate; and on Dec. 3, the township is expected to approve its 2026 budget.

In other township business

Township Manager Alison Dobbins is inviting the public to attend an open house at the Township Building on Sept, 24 beginning at 6:30 p.m. that will include a tour of the existing police facility and an overview of the township’s proposed new police facility.

The board gave their approval to the 2026 Minimum Municipal Obligation (MMO) plan that will authorize $245,462 for its police department and $112,716 for all non-uniformed township personnel. Under Pennsylvania Act 205, the governing body of every municipality is required to review its pension plan and consider the expected financial obligations for each plan for the next fiscal year.

The board voted in favor of authorizing township Solicitor David Sander to take all actions required to vote in favor of the Perdue Pharma Bankruptcy Plan and submit the required Governmental Entities Settlement Agreement (GESA) to the Bankruptcy Court. In 2020, a bankruptcy case involving Purdue Pharma’s financial liability for the opioid crisis in the U.S. took place, which permitted municipalities to be eligible to receive finds generated by the bankruptcy.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].