ARTICLE
After trimming $5 million from the budget and raising more in fees increases and property sales, Bethlehem Mayor Robert Donchez announced Friday the city will need a tax increase of just under 1 mill to balance the "austere" budget and fix the structural deficit in the city's 911 operations.. If City Council approves the 6.2 percent tax increase, city property taxes in Northampton County would rise to 16.88 mills, a tax bill of $844 for a property assessed at $50,000. That's about a $50 increase. Property owners in the western part of the city in Lehigh County, which was recently reassessed, would pay 5.34 mills, or an $854 bill for a property assessed at $160,000. "It is my feeling that a real estate tax increase should be the last resort to any budget solution," Donchez said at a news conference. "Although this budget includes over $5 million in expense reduction, there is still a small general fund deficit and an underfunded 911 system." Click here to read the article.
After trimming $5 million from the budget and raising more in fees increases and property sales, Bethlehem Mayor Robert Donchez announced Friday the city will need a tax increase of just under 1 mill to balance the "austere" budget and fix the structural deficit in the city's 911 operations..
If City Council approves the 6.2 percent tax increase, city property taxes in Northampton County would rise to 16.88 mills, a tax bill of $844 for a property assessed at $50,000. That's about a $50 increase.
Property owners in the western part of the city in Lehigh County, which was recently reassessed, would pay 5.34 mills, or an $854 bill for a property assessed at $160,000.
"It is my feeling that a real estate tax increase should be the last resort to any budget solution," Donchez said at a news conference. "Although this budget includes over $5 million in expense reduction, there is still a small general fund deficit and an underfunded 911 system."
Click here to read the article.