Lehighton to reopen budget

Lehighton Borough Council intends to reopen this year’s budget several weeks after adopting it without a tax increase.

Councilwoman Autumn Abelovsky — who on Tuesday joined the board after winning her first term in office this past November — requested that council reopen the 2018 budget to re-evaluate the millage rates.

Initially, council deadlocked 3-3 to approve Abelovsky’s request, with Abelovsky, Councilman Joe Flickinger, and Councilwoman Lisa Perry in favor, and council members Ryan Saunders, Jared McEvoy, and council President Grant Hunsicker opposed. Councilman Darryl Arner was absent.

In his capacity as mayor, Clark Ritter broke the tiebreaker by agreeing to reopen budget discussions.

Borough Manager Nicole Beckett suggested that a special meeting be held, though no actual date was set.

Council’s decision comes after the then council — which included former council members Scott Rehrig and Helen Torok — last month unanimously agreed to adopt the 2018 budget with no tax increase.

The decision to approve the year’s $4,543,504 spending plan would have left the millage rate in check at 7.5 mills, which would have meant a homeowner with a home assessed at $50,000 would again pay $375 to the borough next year in property taxes.

Earlier last month, Beckett met with all department heads, and as a result, the borough was able to come up with $53,636 in budget cuts.

As part of that, the borough was able to trim $25,500 from the police department ($20,000 of which is to eliminate the part-time police roster); $7,500 from administration; $7,000 from recreation; $6,500 from public works; $2,500 from employee benefits; $2,000 from the borough annex; $1,636 from the fire department; and $1,000 from emergency management.

Beckett said at that time $218,450 was needed to balance next year’s budget.

On a 5-2 vote, council at a special meeting last month agreed to take $178,450, or 2.17 mills, from the borough’s electric fund, to balance the budget.

Also at that meeting, council decided against additional millage for the fire department.

That decision came after fire Chief Patrick Mriss at a special meeting last month said the department needed apparatus replacement.

The four pieces of equipment discussed at that meeting were Engines 512 and 514, Ladder 523 and Rescue 551.

It was noted that in 2001, council increased real estate taxes by a half-mill of real estate to fund future fire equipment purchases. However, equipment prices have significantly increased since then.

The last time residents saw their municipal tax rate raised was in 2014, when council approved a 1-mill increase.