Borough approves tax hike

Council unanimously approves 2019 budget

PHOENIXVILLE >> Borough Council Tuesday night unanimously adopted a $14.5 million general fund budget that will require a 3.8 percent tax hike to be balanced.

Borough Manager E. Jean Krack said the tax hike will cost the owners of a property assessed at the borough average of $100,075 an additional $22 in 2019.

When the draft budget was first presented to council in November, it called for a 6.5 percent tax hike and a millage rate of 6.27.

However Krack said since then the borough received “really very good rates from our insurance company, for liability, health and workers compo. Unfortunately, those numbers usually don’t come in until late, so we had estimated them conservatively.”

Other changes included an increase in some revenue projections as well as a $17 million increase in the overall assessed value of property in Phoenixville.

All of which combined to allow a budget that raises taxes by 3.8 percent instead of 6.5 percent. The 2019 millage rate will be 6.14 instead of 6.27.

That increase will raise the $171,067 to close the gap between budgeted revenues and expenditures, Krack said.

Krack said other funds such as parking, water and sewer are selfsustaining and paid by users.

None of the rates for those services will increase in 2019.

However, trash rates will go up by $4 per quarter due mostly to the borough’s success with recycling. He said the recycling market has softened since other countries stopped taking U.S. recycled materials and, as a result, it now costs more to dispose of.

No one spoke out at the meeting, either the public or members of council, prior to the vote on either the budget or the tax ordinance.