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Election Board discusses referendum question

Published March 28. 2019 01:08PM

Mahanoy City residents will be asked to weigh in with their opinions — should a government study commission of seven members be elected to study the town’s existing form of government, and consider adoption of a home rule charter?

During a Schuylkill County Board of Elections meeting Wednesday, Election Bureau Director Francine Brennan said that it’s important that Mahanoy City residents know that registered voters in all categories — Republican, Democrat, Independent and others — can vote on the referendum question.

“The question will be on the ballot for Republicans and Democrats, along with the places to vote for candidates,” Brennan explained. “There will also be a ballot for people who are not either a Republican or a Democrat but are registered to vote — and that ballot will be only for voting on the referendum question.”

Mahanoy City would be the first in Schuylkill County to have a home rule charter. The borough has been in financially distressed status since 2016, called Act 47; at that time the borough has a budget of $1.1 million and had $800,000 in bills. At the time it entered Act 47, Mahanoy City was projected to add deficits of $250,000 each year through 2021.

Act 47 guidelines allow the borough to levy income taxes of 2 percent; otherwise, state law sets a limit of 1 percent, which is usually split by the municipality and school district. Raising the income tax to 2 percent has brought the borough into a financially stable position, where it’s now projected to have surpluses of about $15,000 per year through 2021.

But the Act 47 status will end in 2021, and income tax will fall back to 1 percent. The revenue loss from the change will be about $477,894 annually. Mahanoy City has options: increase revenue, decrease expenditure or adopt a home rule charter. The struggling borough has slipped from a peak population of $15,000 in the 1920s to its current population, about 4,000, with a housing vacancy rate of 26 percent.

What is a home rule charter? How could it help Mahanoy City? According to the legal government without receiving a charter from the state. Under a home rule charter, the state limit on the earned income tax rate could be removed, allowing it to remain at the current 2 percent rate.

During the meeting, the Board of Elections approved two changes to polling places:

Reilly Township: From Anne’s Bakery, 158 Main St., Branchdale to Newtown Volunteer Fire Company, 28 Wood St., Newtown.

Mechanicsville Borough: from Womers, 921 Pottsville St. to Mechanicsville Borough Hall, 918 First St., Mechanicsville.

The Schuylkill County Election Board is chaired by former commission Bob Carl, with vice-chairwoman Jeanne B. Porter and Mark Scarbinsky, former county administrator. Each county commissioner can appoint an election board member: Porter was chosen by Chairman George Halcovage; Carl by Commissioner Frank Staudenmeier; and Scarbinsky by Commissioner Gary Hess.

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