The municipal portion of the property tax bill of a borough home assessed at $200,000 would rise from $1,120 last year to $1,160 this year
By: John Tredrea
A municipal budget that would increase the average homeowner’s tax bill by $20 for 2002 was unanimously introduced by Pennington Borough Council on Monday.
If adopted, the $2,569,124 budget would bring a property tax increase of 2 cents per $100 of assessed property value, to 58 cents. This means the municipal portion of the property tax bill of a borough home assessed at $200,000 would rise from $1,120 last year to $1,160 this year.
An adoption vote is scheduled for the May 6 following the public hearing.
Borough Administrator Karen Waldron said factors driving the need to raise taxes are increased insurance costs and a 20 percent increase in the cost of providing health benefits to borough employees.
Those same factors were cited by Hopewell Township when it introduced its budget last month. The township budget, which calls for a 1 cent tax rate increase, is due for an adoption vote tonight (see separate story).
Like Township Administrator Christine Smeltzer, Ms. Waldron noted that, due to the economic downtown, the borough is making less money on its investments than it has in prior years.
Ms. Waldron added that several borough commissions, including Economic Development, Shade Tree and Recreation, were allocated less money in the budget than the amount they requested. "But they’re all getting at least as much as they did last year," she said.