Lower Saucon Property Owners Could See Tax Hike in 2015

Property owners in Lower Saucon Township could be facing a tax increase in 2015, if a draft budget proposal recently presented to township council is ultimately adopted.

WFMZ-TV Channel 69 News reported that the budget proposes a one mill–or 22 percent–tax increase, which would translate into a $200 annual increase in taxes for the owner of a home with an assessed value of $200,000.

The tax increase has been proposed to help offset the loss of landfill revenue and tepid economic conditions, the news station also reported.

According to a copy of the proposed budget posted on the township’s website, total landfill host agreement fees in 2015 could be just $1.2 million, which would represent a 41 percent decrease from the 2014 projected total.

Among the new expenses included in the proposed 2015 budget is a request for new chairs for the township council dais, at an estimated cost of $3,000.

Other areas of the budget represent projected decreases. For example, the request for $172,500 for library services at the Hellertown Area Library “is $10,967 less than [in] 2014,” the proposal states.