Slatington passes budget with no tax hike

The Slatington Borough Council met Monday evening for a special session. On the agenda was the 2020 budget. The budget passed with no tax increase.

“Everything is remaining the same,” said Council President Daniel Stevens.

The council passed a resolution setting the real estate tax for 2020. The mill rate is remaining at 5.3 mills, which is 4.8 mills for general borough purposes and 0.50 mills for the Fire Fund Tax. It is equivalent to 53 cents on each $100 of assessed value on real estate property. The per capita tax is $5. The wage tax is 1%, as is the real estate transfer tax. The local service tax is $52.

Stevens said the amount going to the water department was increased a little in the budget. The water treatment plant needs to replace two aging control panels that regulate the filtration process.

“The water is safe to drink,” Stevens said.

The borough recently had some problems with one of the control panels, but the filtration process was not disrupted. The problem was fixed, but replacing the panels is the long-term solution and is an issue the council plans to address in 2020. Stevens said he doesn’t know how much it will cost to replace the panels, but the borough has budgeted about $100,000 to cover it.

Stevens thanked council member Bryon Reed during the meeting for helping to solve the recent problem with a control panel. Reed made several calls until he found an expert from the Philadelphia area who came out and was able to fix the panel. Reed said helping the borough and the residents is the reason why he wanted to be on council.

In other business, the council voted to keep the various fees the same for the new year. And they voted to give full-time employees a 2.5% increase and part-time employees a 2% raise.

The supervisors also passed Ordinance 697, section 180-13D, which pertains to the creation of a grease trap inspection program.

“We’ve had trouble with grease in the sewer line, so we are trying to be proactive,” Stevens said in a previous meeting.

No one on council had any questions or comments about the ordinance or that of Ordinance 698 that amends Chapter 141, Article II pertaining to rental, rooming and commercial units and all dwellings in the borough. Both passed.

The ordinances are effective immediately.

The grease ordinance affects only businesses, like restaurants, that use grease traps. Stevens said grease traps can be maintained by the owner, but larger restaurants often hire someone to clean them out.

The original intent of the housing ordinance was to have rental properties inspected after the tenant moved out and before a new tenant moved in, which can but usually doesn’t mean the building is being sold. Instead, the ordinance was being applied in a much broader sense, and all residential properties were being inspected by the borough when they were being sold.

The inspection was redundant, because insurance and mortgage companies already require an inspection as a condition of sale. The borough’s requirement was making the process more complicated and created a larger burden on the inspector.

Another change to Ordinance 698 is that any issues will go directly to the magistrate, instead of a Maintenance Board of Appeals. The borough’s solicitor Edmund Healy suggested at the regular meeting earlier this month that the council change this to expedite a decision, which would save the borough money in legal costs.

The borough will continue to inspect rental properties as the ordinance intended, Stevens said. Anyone moving in or out of the borough is required to get a $10 moving permit.