Eagles Mere Borough Council Tax millage is the fraction of a percent of Real Estate values charged to taxpayers. The fluctuation of the percent may, or may not, correspond to the amount of Tax Dollars charged. The Real Estate Tax you pay is a combination of millage imposed by the County (which is significantly higher than that of the Borough) and the Eagles Mere Borough (combination of Borough operations and Fire Company) millage. Our Borough tax millage has varied over the past 20 years due to fluctuating Real Estate valuation and whether the Borough’s obligations were funded by taxes or deferred to future taxes. Over the past several years, tax revenue from the Borough millage did not cover all financial obligations yet Council has not raised taxes for the past 5 years. Those obligations either were funded by drawing down some reserve accounts or were left unfunded. 2009 road repairs were funded by one of the last reserve accounts. Recently we discovered that several long term and increasing obligations had not been funded. While Employees accumulated “retirement” benefits “on paper” over the years, these increasing financial obligations of the Borough had not been funded. Also, there had been no annual saving for the inevitable purchases of new trucks and other equipment, recently resulting in an un-budgeted need for $50,000 to buy a new Truck. To become more fiscally responsible, Council decided that each year we must fully fund our existing obligations to our employees plus set aside $5,000 towards the inevitable future purchase of a replacement truck. This commitment along with the expense of a basic wage increase (3%) for our employees plus an increase in our insurance premiums and coupled with significantly reduced income from interest and State highway funds, has made it imperative that the short fall be covered by tax revenues. We actually slashed proposed 2010 Road repairs by $25,000 and required the “Boro Branch” to be self funding to limit the increased “hit” on our taxpayers. While we slashed the Road repairs budget in 2010 and with declining State aid for roads, we will be faced with the challenge of how to fund repairs in future years. The Total Borough 2010 tax increase is $18,700. There are 534 parcels taxed. Therefore, the average increase per parcel for this Borough tax will be $35.02. To better track the status of our actual expenditures, for 2010 Council instituted budgeting by each month instead of just a lump sum for the year. Not only does this help us focus better on every category, every month but our reporting will now allow us to view and react to these actual figures compared to our Budget by Month and Year-to-date. Unlike many elected representatives, we don’t feel that we have to spend every cent we can get our hands on and/or borrow money on future tax receipts. We have some “Emergency Funds” left over from selling our last major asset, the “Airport”. We used a significant portion of the Airport proceeds to help renovate the General Store complex and build the new Museum downtown. We also used some of the funds to facilitate building & leasing the new office and Conference room, replace worn out equipment, complete the Chaseway and Beach parking. The remaining amount we are keeping as a hedge against a future catastrophe, unfunded State or Federal mandates or permanent infrastructure. We also feel that present Council members should not spend all the money, leaving those who follow holding an empty bag if and when they face a serious and compelling need. Members of the Eagles Mere Borough Council Finance Committee |