Here’s a novel idea - returning surplus tax funds to taxpayers

For Delaware County residents, it’s a reason for thanks. Courtesy of County Council. Delaware County government is considering an early Christmas gift for taxpayers, in the form of a tax break.

In other words, they are thinking about putting some of your hard-earned tax dollars back in your pockets.

As well they should.

This all started a few weeks back when County Council rolled out its proposed spending plan for next year. The $354.8 million fiscal blueprint held the line on taxes for the fifth straight year.

A look inside the numbers includes something you don’t very often see. The county’s expected expenditures are going down, a decrease of $2,174,000 from the 2018 numbers. At the same time, the county is seeing a boost in revenue derived from federal and state grants, mostly for human services programs, to the tune of more than $300,000.

As a result, County Council Chairman John McBlain is asking county Executive Director Marianne Grace to consider cutting taxes.

“We commend Executive Director Marianne Grace, Budget Director Jim Hayes, President Judge Kevin Kelly and all our department heads and employees,” McBlain said of the thrifty county spending plan. “It is their diligent work throughout the year that allows (county council) to be able to consider yet another no-taxincrease budget for our residents and taxpayers.”

So how much are taxpayers going to get back?

Well, let’s just say you shouldn’t expect one of those luxury cars with the big red bow on it out in the driveway on Christmas morning.

Council is considering a 2.5 percent tax cut. On an average county home assessed at $100,000, that comes to about 25 bucks. Don’t spend it all in one place. But don’t snicker at it, either. How many government entities do you know that are actually spending less? Politicians are always talking about spending within their means. Our fearless leaders in Harrisburg come to mind. They seem to struggle with that concept. Every time they are facing a revenue shortfall, they suddenly find a new avenue for legalized gambling in the state to cover it up. Then there are our local school boards. These folks seem to be allergic to making any kind of cut to address the daunting numbers in their budget process each year. The result? That bane of the homeowner, property taxes, seems to go up each year.

By the way, any homeowner will tell you that their property tax bill dwarfs the taxes levied on them by the counter. Adding to the burden – at least the emotional one – is the reassessment project currently being performed on every property in the county. Many residents in older homes fear they will be looking at steep increases in their property tax bills.

Give McBlain credit. He noticed that the county had built a modest surplus in its reserve fund over the last few years. That account now stands at a healthy $54 million.

Even after tucking most of that money aside for unforeseen expenses, the county was still looking at an extra $4.3 million in the kitty.

“Since the turn of the century, that’s the largest amount that we’ve accumulated,” McBlain commented. “We’ve been able to grow our fund balance to a very healthy number.”

Kudos to McBlain for what he did next. No, he didn’t suggest stashing this money in some arcane fund. McBlain decided to give the money back to citizens, in effect putting a little jingle back in taxpayers’ pockets.

This is based on the novel concept that is so often forgotten by our ruling bodies. It’s not their money. It’s the taxpayers’ money. And when government has money left after paying its bills, that money should go back into the pockets from where it came.

The county is limited in terms of how much it can give back. It must maintain at least 10 percent of its general fund for its reserve fund.

“What I’ve asked in my budget recommendation is for them to take a look at utilizing that remainder of the $4.3 million of the unassigned fund balance and decreasing the real estate taxes because of that.”

McBlain admits that this has not been realized without some sacrifice. There are a lot of open positions that have not been filled in the county courthouse. About 3,000 go to work in the Media Courthouse every day. Right now about 200 to 300 positions are unfilled.

Council has slated public comment on the budget Dec. 5 and will vote on a final spending plan Dec. 12.

“I think it would be responsible to pass a no-tax-increase budget,” McBlain said. “But I also think that when we are in a situation where we’ve accumulated a sufficient amount, a more than sufficient amount in our reserve fund, we should allow some of that money to go back to taxpayers. Rather than us hold their money, they can figure out what to do with their own money.”

We could not agree more.