Council president: ‘Too early to say there’s no tax increase’ in budget

SOUDERTON >> If you live in Souderton and are wondering if property taxes will be going up for next year’s budget, for now the answer is maybe.

Borough council will be taking a more detailed look at the numbers at a 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22 work session, followed by the proposed budget presentation at its Nov. 5 meeting and final vote Dec. 3, but it got a look during its Oct. 15 work session at a draft version of what the general fund — the largest portion of the budget — could be.

“I’m not looking to increase the tax rate in 2019,” borough Manager Mike Coll said as he began outlining the proposal, which he said is similar to this year’s budget and had $3,592,000 of revenue and $3,578,000 of expenses.

“Real estate transfer taxes have been strong all year long,” Coll said. “We’re still seeing quite a bit of resales of property going on.”

Another source of income, though, isn’t showing the same strength, he said.

“Earned income tax is a little bit sluggish, quite frankly, in 2018 versus what we saw in 2017,” Coll said.

The amount collected from the cable television franchise fee looks like it will be below budget this year, he said.

“That seems to be sliding downward,” Coll said. “I think some are getting away from the cable.”

The $60 per quarter year rate for trash and recyclables collections from people with a tote is expected to remain the same, but there likely will be an increase in the bill for people using the bag system for trash collection, he said.

The borough plans to hire a full-time police officer next year to replace one who has retired, Coll said. A proposed master plan for Souderton Community Park is being reviewed, he said. The general fund budget

for the park will remain about the same as this year, though, he said, because if park improvements are made, the money would come from capital reserves, not the general fund.

Council President Brian Goshow lauded Coll for this year’s numbers running close to the budgeted amount, but said he’s concerned that some of the projected revenue numbers for next year may not be reached, calling the projections “conservative, but maybe not conservative enough.”

Council member Richard Halbom said the borough should also be building up its capital reserves fund.

Goshow said he appreciates the idea of not having a tax increase, but council should remain open to a tax hike.

“I agree with you,” Halbom said.

“Maybe what I’m saying at this point is maybe it’s just a little too early to say there’s no tax increase,” Goshow said.

In a separate matter at the meeting, Goshow noted that the new electronic sign at Souderton Community Park’s Main Street parking lot has arrived.

It was installed the previous Friday, Coll said.

The previous one was damaged during a winter storm last year and had to be replaced, Coll said.

Since it’s a digital sign, which is not allowed under the borough’s rules, a variance was needed and was received from the zoning hearing board for the new sign.

“It’s not going to scroll 24/7,” Coll said.

Around 11 p.m., the scrolling shuts down for the day, he said.

“It’ll just go to time and temperature through the night and then come back up in the morning,” Coll said.

Software for the sign has been loaded onto one of the computers in the borough office so changes can now be made to the sign messages from the office, he said.

“We used to have to go out with a laptop and load it,” he said.

The sign was purchased by the Business Improvement District, but the borough will be paying part of the bill, he said. Advertisements for local businesses will be shown about 75 percent of the time on the sign, with borough community announcements shown the remainder of the time, he said.

“Maybe what I’m saying at this point is maybe it’s just a little too early to say there’s no tax increase.” — Council President Brian Goshow