Mixed tax bag
A quarter of Berks County municipalities have raised their property tax rates for 2023.
Each of the county’s 72 municipalities — townships, boroughs and Reading — had to approve their 2022 budgets by the end of December. And with those budgets, municipalities had to set their 2023 tax rates.
Most held the line, keeping their rate the same. But 18 increased their rates, up from the 12 that raised taxes in 2022.
The tax increases range from 0.1 mill in Ruscombmanor and Tilden townships to 3 mills in Mount Penn.
A mill is $1 per every $1,000 of assessed value of a property. That means a 1 mill tax on a property assessed at $100,000 would equal $100.
So that means the 0.1 mill increase in Ruscombmanor and Tilden would raise the tax bill on a property assessed at $100,000 by $10. And the Mount Penn increase would increase a tax bill by $310 on a home assessed at $100,000.
The other 15 municipalities to raise taxes for 2023 are Amity Township, Bally, Bechtelsville, Bernville, Boyertown, Centre Township, Colebrokedale Township, Cumru Township, Fleetwood, Hamburg, Lower Alsace Township, Marion Township, Oley Township, Sinking Spring and West Reading.
While residents in those municipalities will see larger tax bills this year, those who own property in Upper Bern Township will see their bills shrink.
For the second straight year, the township lowered its tax rate, shrinking it by just over 10%. The 0.17 mill decrease will cut the municipal property tax bill on a home assessed at $100,000 by $17.
In 2022 the township lowered its tax rate by just over 15%.
Despite the back-to-back rate decreases, Upper Bern sits outside of the 10 lowest rates in the county at number 13.
The lowest municipal tax rate in Berks for 2023 continues to be in Earl Township, which does not levy a municipal property tax.
The other lowest rates in the county are Jefferson Township (0.18 mill), Windsor Township (0.3 mill), Centre Township (0.54 mill), Albany Township (0.6 mill), Perry Township (0.8 mills), Greenwich Township (1 mill), North Heidelberg Township (1 mill), Rockland Township (1 mill) and Upper Tulpehocken Township (1 mill).
The highest rates in that county are New Morgan (18.6 mills), Reading (18.129 mills), Mount Penn (14.2 mills), West Reading (12.1 mills), Lower Alsace Township (9.85), Sinking Spring (8.79 mills), Hamburg (8.75 mills), Boyertown (8.64 mills) and St. Lawrence (7.68).
Municipal tax rates vary widely for a number of reasons. Factors like population density, average assessed property values, the number and types of businesses, and the amount of services provided all impact the rate.
For example, New Morgan’s high rate — which has in the past fluctuated significantly year to year — is due to the borough’s extremely small population. With only 54 residents according to the 2020 census, it’s an outlier.
Other municipalities have high residential density and provide a high number services, which expands budgets and lifts tax rates.
Reading, for example, uses it’s second-highest rate to help fund a nearly $100 million budget that is by leaps and bounds the largest in the county.
Some municipalities also levy property taxes for specific purposes, like road construction or to help fund local fire companies, which inflate their overall rates.
And Earl Township, like New Morgan, is an outlier. It is able to not have a municipal property tax because its township government is funded by host fees from the Rolling Hills Landfill.
The tax increases range from 0.1 mill in Ruscombmanor and Tilden townships to 3 mills in Mount Penn.