Hellertown Borough Council isn’t ready to post its preliminary budget for next year, but the borough is facing a six-figure deficit.
At Monday night’s meeting, council talked about options to put a dent in the $159,000 gap. Employee benefits and the cost of borough sanitation were two talking points, and more discussions will be held over the next couple of weeks.
“There are some levers that have been discussed to pull (over the last several budget meetings), one being budgeting our Benecon reimbursement that we know in 2024 for 2025,” said council president Tom Rieger.
A meeting document uploaded to the borough’s website noted that a 10 percent increase in sanitation and recycling rates could be another way to help bridge the budget gap. However, council discussed other options to avoid that route.
“In our budget workshops, we have discussed allocating a percentage of administrative oversight for sanitation from basically a percentage of Barry (Yonney’s) salary and benefits back to sanitation. That lever would pull about $42,000 and reduce that deficit accordingly,” Rieger added.
The borough’s police department is another key cog in figuring out the 2025 budget. The borough will need to determine whether to hire one or two officers, or keep things status quo from a personnel perspective.
“Our bottom number consists of all budgetary positions and figures, and that leads us to other conversations on what we can do when we look at how do we close that gap? Reduction of service in some manner, removal of additional proposed services or additional incremental revenue enhancements…are kind of three options,” Rieger said.
According to a borough document, the fire tax will remain at 1.5 mills. One mill is currently equal to $132,358,70. “We were given a menu of options,” Rieger said.” “What does it look like with one (mill), and what does it look like status quo? Those are things to consider over the next two weeks.”
An average current tax bill for a Hellertown resident is $1,121.07, plus an $84.04 annual fire tax for a grand total of $1,205.15.
“On the next agenda, we’ll be presenting somewhat of a preliminary budget,” Rieger said. “How we get to the ending number is open for discussion. If we do raise taxes, there are certain statutory requirements that we need to meet, but we are required to pass a budget by year’s end,” he added.
The next borough council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. at Hellertown Borough Hall. Meetings are also livestreamed via Zoom and the borough’s Facebook page.
In other news
- Rieger confirmed that a 10-year funding agreement with Hellertown Area Library that council approved last week was executed. “(Library Board of Trustees president) Mr. (Ken) Solt and I were finally able to connect with (borough manager) Cathy (Hartranft) and (library director) Ali Finkbeiner. We did execute that agreement and took a couple of nice photos,” said Rieger.
- Hellertown Police Chief James Baitinger will be at the community center to talk about crime prevention tips for seniors on Tuesday, Nov. 12 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. “It’s a great opportunity to try and educate them and help them out in any way shape or form,” he said.
- The next LEAP (Law Enforcement Assistance Program) will be on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 950 Front St. “We’re going to get some stats and again try to educate people on what to keep an eye out for,” Baitinger said. “We can’t be everywhere all of the time, we need the eyes and ears of our citizens. I want people to get involved, help us out, and make Hellertown a better place to reside, live, and work–and to be what it could be.”
- Borough offices will be closed on Nov. 11 in observance of Veterans Day. Garbage pickup will be on a regular schedule that day.
