After holding the line for 2010, Elizabethtown Borough Council adopted the borough's 2011 budget Dec. 16 with a tax increase of eight-tenths of a mill, bringing the total rate to 5 mills.
That means the average property owner with an assessed value of $150,000 will see $120 increase in taxes for 2011.
The vote was 6-0 in favor of spending plan, but Councilman Tom Shaud took a long pause before casting his roll call vote to say that the increase will have a significant impact on him as a blue-collar worker. But, he said, the work of the borough must continue. Councilman Neil Ketchum said at the end of the meeting that in his year on Borough Council the budget vote was his most difficult decision.
The tax increase was necessary as the borough faced a deficit of $340,000 thanks to revenue projections for the earned income tax that are lower than in years past. The current economy and high unemployment rate contribute to lower collections in the tax.
I personally did receive correspondence from some residents who said the borough needs to maintain its current level of service while also not increasing taxes. Only two people attended Thursday's council meeting, and just one spoke out against the tax increase.
It's worth noting again that the 2011 budget does not include nearly $15 million in projects funded through a number of grants that Elizabethtown has been fortunate to receive. Throughout 2011, residents will see a number of these projects start or be completed, all with little or no impact on municipal budgets.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
3 comments:
Because of ongoing spam passed off as comments, I have instituted a policy of moderating all comments. I will receive an e-mail when you comment and will review to ensure they are appropriate. For the record, this is not an effort to censor anyone except spammers hawking offensive websites and inappropriate and unrelated content. I pledge to post all comments, regardless of whether they are critical of me and my writing or not.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Quick question,
ReplyDeleteDoes property tax just go to the school district, or does part of it also go to the borough too?
Adam -- The tax increase last week goes directly to the borough. The school district adopts its own budget and sets its own millage rate for property taxes. What Borough Council did last week has no impact on the school budget, and likewise what the School Board does budget and tax wise has no impact on the borough's budget.
ReplyDeleteOk, thanks. I thought property tax was just for the school district. I was just trying to figure out how the taxes work, where they go, etc.
ReplyDelete