No tax increase in Slatington

When the Slatington Borough Council met recently to discuss the preliminary budget, they not only found there wasn’t a need to raise taxes, but also that a reduction in the garbage rate may be possible.

Council President Daniel Stevens said the borough has a good contract with the garbage hauler County Waste for the next three years and is in a good position financially, so reduction in the rate is doable.

“All of the budgets are balanced or have a surplus,” he said.

There is a surplus in the budget for garbage collection. The council thought it would be a good idea “to pass on some of the savings to the residents,” he said.

The reduction in the garbage rate would be 9 percent, on top of the reduction the borough gave in February of 17 percent. Stevens said the February reduction brought the garbage bill down to $55 per quarter, and the new reduction, if passed, would bring the bill down to $50 per quarter. It totals a savings of $64 per year.

“You don’t get too many reductions (in life),” he said.

The council is also looking at a possible reduction in the fee for inspections of houses that are to be sold and rental units. The fee had been $45, but was increased to $60 to help cover the costs for code enforcement, he said. The borough has since changed the firm it was using for code enforcement and has seen a savings. The proposed reduction would return the fee to $45.

As far as if any other fees could be reduced, Stevens said, “There may be other fees, but we haven’t nailed that down yet.”

Until the budget is voted on at the next council meeting on Dec. 10, the reductions are still only proposed and not guaranteed. The budget is available to the public to view at the borough office.

The borough is also looking at several major projects, many of which will come in 2019. These projects include a water line at Shadow Oaks, a new digester at the sewer treatment plant, a bridge replacement on Walnut Street and realignment of the intersection of Walnut and Main streets, and replacing operating panels at the water treatment plant, Stevens said.

Most of the projects have grants to help with the costs.

The borough received a $250,000 grant from the state to help with the cost of the Shadow Oaks Lane water line, but has to provide a 15 percent match. This will total about $32,000, he said.

Likewise, the borough received a grant to help with the cost of putting in a new digester and received an $80,000 Community Development Block Grant for the Walnut and Main street work. The only project without financial assistance from a grant, at this point, is for operating panels.

It’s necessary maintenance at the water treatment plant, Stevens said. The panels were put in when the plant was built in the mid-1990s.