Taxes Remain Flat Under Projected Hatboro Budget

Hatboro homeowners are not expected to pay any additional municipal taxes under the borough's $4.9 million preliminary budget. 

The borough council held a special meeting Monday night to introduce the spending plan, which, as projected, holds the line on taxes and maintains the existing 7.891 millage rate, according to Council President John Zygmont.

"I don’t see it changing much at all," Zygmont said. "We may tweak a few thousand dollars here and there. I don’t see anything that’s going to impact tax rates going up."

At that rate, the owner of a property assessed at $100,000 would continue to pay $789 in municipal taxes in 2014. Of that, $617 would be earmarked for Hatboro's general fund, while $91 would go to debt service and the remaining $80 would fund fire protection, according to figures Zygmont provided.

Borough officials have plugged in estimates for health insurance–$490,000, up from $440,000 in 2013–and increases projected from the finalization of the Hatboro Police contract, Zygmont said. 

"We’re working on the police contract right now," he said. "Those details aren’t fixed, but we put them in there where we estimate where they’re going to come in at."

For 2014, Hatboro officials are anticipating a $150,000 increase in tax revenue, with no increase in tax rates. The main drivers of that, according to Zygmont, are projections for $50,000 more in Earned Income Tax, as well as a $40,000 increase in the Local Services Tax as compared to 2013. 

Next year will be the first year that the borough receives an entire year of taxes from the Local Services Tax, which was adopted at the end of 2012. Because "you collect that a quarter behind," according to Zygmont, the borough only realized three-quarters of its proceeds in 2013. 

The budget, as proposed, maintains current services, while earmarking $100,000 for capital projects, Zygmont said. 

The council will begin looking at its capital budgeting in January or February for projects "with life of more than a year," he said. 

Capital budget meetings will also include discussion of $2.8 million in borough facilities upgrades, including renovations at the Hatboro Police station, public works, the municipal building and a proposal to house a public works annex on a portion of Eaton Park. 

The Hatboro Borough Council is expected to adopt its preliminary budget on Monday and its final budget on Dec. 16.