#NewtownPA Township taxpayers will see a 3 mill increase in their municipal tax rate next year under the manager’s recommended budget for 2024 [see chart above].
In his annual budget presentation before the board of supervisors Wednesday night, manager Micah Lewis recommended a 2 mill increase in the township’s fire protection fund and a 1 mill increase in its debt service.
According to Lewis, the millage increase in the fire fund is needed to pay for a $250,000 contribution to the Newtown Fire Association. The fund also anticipates a contribution to its the capital fund of $660,000 for future capital purchases, including a new fire truck to replacing an aging engine.
The one mill increase in the township’s debt service would pay for the conversion of the township’s public streetlights to the more cost efficient LED fixtures along with building lighting upgrades and the purchase and construction of a pedestrian warning beacon at a mid-block crosswalk on Newtown-Yardley Road at Tara Boulevard.
With the proposed tax increase, the township’s millage rate would rise to 13.115 mills, which equates to a total municipal tax bill of $511.10 on a house with an average assessment of $38,971.
Budgeted expenditures are expected to rise to $16 million from $14.8 million in 2024. Expenditures are largely driven by personnel costs, operational expenses impacted by inflation and one time capital purchases.
Salary increases are budgeted at three percent for at-will employees while exempt employees are budgeted in accordance with the township’s collective bargaining agreements.
The township currently has 73 employees. With the five additional employees in the budget, the township will end 2024 with 78 employees.
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