POTTSTOWN PA – Property taxes levied by Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township on real estate within its borders would remain unchanged for another year, and carry no planned increase, under a $5.39 million tentative 2011 general fund budget being released this morning (Monday, Nov. 23, 2010) at 8 a.m. for public inspection and review.
Taxpayers’ total township bills, however, will nonetheless go up slightly, because Lower Pottsgrove would collect a higher fire protection tax for services rendered by the Sanatoga and Ringing Hill fire companies.
If finally adopted next month (December 2010) by the Board of Commissioners, the township base tax rate will remain stable at 1.958 mills, or about $1.96 for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. The dedicated fire services tax would rise 6 cents, to a total of .46 mills, or 46 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
Altogether, on a home in Lower Pottsgrove assessed at $200,000, its owners by year-end 2011 will have paid about $484 in township property taxes, or about $12 more than they did this year.
Separately, trash collection fees during 2011 will go up too, by $12 to a total of $142 a year, due to an increase built into the township’s contract with hauler J.P. Mascaro And Sons of Norristown PA.
To make the budget numbers work, commissioners plan to:
- Tap a piggy bank of unreserved funds. Commissioners will transfer $621,450 from township savings to avoid a tax increase, just as they’ve done in amounts ranging from $285,423 to $760,946 since 2007.
- Expect an increase in earned income tax (EIT) revenues, by roughly $330,000 to a total of $1.6 million. The amount is significantly higher than the corresponding EIT revenue of budgets in any year since 2007. At the same time, according to township Manager Rodney Hawthorne, the budget “assumes a no-growth economy.” During the past three years, budgeted EIT ranged from a low of $1.27 million (2010) to a high of $1.5 million (2009).
- Reduce overall expenses. The tentative 2011 budget of $5,399,617 is fractionally smaller, $40,022 less, than the 2010 budget.
All figures cited are included in printed budget documents unanimously approved last Thursday (Nov. 18) by commissioners. Coming editions of The Post will offer expanded stories on various aspects of the budget. The budget in its entirety is available for public inspection weekdays during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA.
Related (to Lower Pottsgrove Township’s 2011 budget):
Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of Nov. 18):
POTTSTOWN PA – The brazen shooting Sunday afternoon (Nov. 21, 2010) of a 14-year-old boy on a street in a historic Pottstown PA neighborhood has property owners fearful and community activists up in arms. Here’s what’s being reported and said, culled from The Post’s news feeds as of Tuesday (Nov. 23) at 10:30 a.m.
