Budget raises taxes slightly

Following Monday night’s budget discussion by borough council was a little like getting your bearings on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

It took four votes and three failures before a budget proposal by Mayor Sharon Thomas, made out of left field and never before last night, for a $52,562,947 budget to get passed.

It will raise 2017 taxes by less than half a percent — 0.29 percent to be exact — and raise the annual tax bill on the average home by a whopping $2.47.

It will bring a new millage rate of 10.340 mills.

The various budget scenarios on the table were identified primarily by their tax hike percentage and the manner in which their achieved their savings.

The administration had recommended, and Council Borough President Dan Weand did his best to endorse, a budget that would have raised taxes

by 1.24 percent — a $10.51 annual increase on a home assessed at $85,000, the borough median.

But with Councilwoman Rita Paez missing, that budget failed with a 3-3 tie — Carol Kulp, Ryan Procsal and Weand voted yay; Dennis Arms, Joe Kirkland and Sheryl Miller voted nay — and Thomas casting the tie-breaking vote against.

A zero tax increase could be achieved by not replacing a retiring police officer and cutting an administrative position in human resources, but only Arms voted in favor of that scenario.

Next council tried Miller’s idea, to keep the police officer but eliminate the human resources administrative post. That idea would have raised taxes by 1.16 percent and driven a tax hike of $9.89 for the median home.

But that one went down in flames too with only Miller voting in favor.

Finally, it was the lastminute plan brought to the table by Thomas that won the most votes and passed.

This plan delays the hiring of a replacement officer and keeps the HR person.

Arms and Miller cast the only votes against it.

“This is not an anti-police vote by me, this is a temporary fiscal decision,” Thomas said.

But the effect may result in the force being down one officer after Sgt. Charles McClincy retires in 2017.

Police Chief Rick Drumheller told council that the current civil service list expires in July. If a new officer is not hired by then, the department must go through the process of creating an entire new list, holding new exams, and that will take several months.

By the time a new officer has completed the police academy training, it may well be 2018, Drumheller conceded.

“We’ll do the job with whatever council chooses to provide,” Drumheller said.

Borough Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr. reminded council that although the scenarios offered are helpful in understanding how a particular budget option is achieved, that is not what council is voting on.

“You are adopting a budget and establishing a millage rate for the year,” Garner said.

“At the end of the day, it’s the borough manager’s call on how the budget gets implemented. The manager has the ultimate authority on the budget,” he said.