Matthew TothLebanon Daily News
Members of the Lebanon County Republican Committee Thursday voiced opposition against the county commissioners’ proposed 18% property tax increase in the 2022 budget.
Read by Dawn Blauch, members of the committee wrote that many of the “Greatest Generation” would be taxed out of their homes because of such an increase. The letter was signed by 65 members of the county’s Republican committee.
“At a time when Americans are struggling to cope with stifling inflation, across the board, due to overspending by President (Joe) Biden and Democrats in Washington, D.C., it is simply unconscionable for our Republican county commissioners to consider a double-digit property tax increase in Lebanon County,” Blauch read.
Officials are looking at a 0.6 mill increase, setting the millage rate at 3.8925 mills for 2022. The last tax increase occurred in 2016, when commissioners raised the millage rate to 3.2925 mills.
The average assessed value of homes throughout Lebanon County is $168,950, according to officials. Homeowners with that value would see their taxes increased by $101.37.
Officials said the county has had a deficit for the last three years, reaching $6.5 million in anticipation of 2022. The county has been using cash on hand to balance the budget.
Commissioner Chairman Robert Phillips said he was shocked at the letter, saying county officials have looked everywhere they can to balance the budget before considering the proposed increase.
“I think it’s just disingenuous for people … none of those folks that have signed on to that have approached me with either a number that would be satisfactory to raise the taxes or a solution to what should be cut to get down to a balanced budget,” he said.
County Administrator Jamie Wolgemuth said at the Dec. 2 meeting the county has had a deficit for the last three years, reaching $6.5 million in anticipation of 2022. The proposed increase would be used to help pay for rising healthcare costs, salary increases and a $3 million annual expenditure to provide full medical service to the Lebanon County Correctional Facility.
Officials have looked every place they can to create a balanced budget, Phillips said. But he said the only two solutions now are to reduce costs or increase revenue.
“If you look at the things we fund, would you defund the jail? You can’t do that,” Phillips said. “Stop paying for the court system? Stop answering the 911 calls? I mean, these are all things we could do but wouldn’t do because we we are responsible people.”
Big ticket items in the 2022 budget include capital projects such as the construction of the new Department of Emergency Services 911 center, which is estimated to raise the debt service by $1.4 million.
The center is designed to be the primary 911 operations center, with the current building set to be a backup. The new center will also provide training spaces for all emergency services and serve as a base for county government officials and staff should something happen to the municipal building — at a total cost of $40.9 million for the project.
When asked directly about the need for a new 911 center, Blauch said she knows there are issues with the current center that need to be addressed.
They’ve been planning to pay for this for a while now, and I thought there was a plan to pay for it other than raising taxes,” she said.
In the letter, the committee members compared Lebanon to Dauphin County, which has not seen a tax increase in over 15 years. Wolgemuth said part of Dauphin County’s $212 million budget for 2022 is being funded partly by $26 million in cash on hand to get it balanced.
“However, on the horizon, they have $42 million total left in cash,” he said. “So, they have about this year coming, and of the next year, they are going to be facing the same problem. All counties are facing the same problem.”
Commissioner William Ames said it was unfortunate committee members didn’t want to sit down with commissioners about their concerns before Thursday’s meeting.
“They’d rather have the big headline splash and, you know, make a big event here at the meeting and the media play,” he said. “I’m not sure that’s the best way to accomplish what’s best for Lebanon County.”
Democratic Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz did not respond to the letter Thursday, since it was addressed to the Republican commissioners.
Phillips said last year would have been the year to consider an increase, but officials decided against it because of the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(The commissioners) despise raising taxes,” he said. “That’s why it’s just a little, I feel, disingenuous not to have people coming who signed such a letter and not tell us what’s an acceptable amount of tax increase and what you would cut to balance it. Because we’ve done all that, and this is where we are.”
Commissioners will finalize the 2022 budget at a special meeting on Dec 23.
Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at [email protected] or on Twitter at @DAMattToth.
Author: Amaury Abreu
