A November 2023 report to Falls Township officials by PFM Group Consulting projected that the township faces a progressive annual revenue decline of more than $20 million due to the impending loss of landfill host fees. The report projected Falls should anticipate seeing annual deficits as soon as 2030 and the financial outlook would only worsen from there. The long-term financial projections included in the report have never been made public, and in legal filings the township admitted information about the pending landfill closure was being maintained “exclusively for staff’s reference.” The Bucks County Courier Times submitted a Right-To-Know request for the information, which was denied by Falls, initially saying the study did not exist. Although the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records upheld the denial by Falls, township officials reversed course and clarified that the analysis was originally related to police compensation costs and conceded that information “related to the anticipated closure of the landfill” was part of the 2023 report. In February, Falls supervisors authorized a second agreement with PFM Consulting to examine and develop comprehensive and long-range financial projections regarding the loss of landfill host fees. That study is continuing. As of Dec. 31, 2022, host fees for landfill and incinerator operations accounted for roughly 60% of the township’s budget revenue.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 6/25/2024