Point Boro Tax Rate to Increase by 2 Percent

The municipal portion of the overall Point Borough tax rate is expected to increase by 2 percent if a proposed budget is adopted on Sept. 17.

Point Borough Council voted unanimously on Tuesday night to introduce the budget which will be up for second reading, adoption and a public hearing on Sept. 17. Council members Chris Goss and Chris Leitner were absent.

The following is budget information provided by Borough Business Administrator David Maffei:

The amount to be raised by the local tax levy is $13,442,894 or $266,452 more than the 2012 amount of $13,176,442.

The total, proposed municipal budget $19,461,232 is $1,159,359 more than the 2012 budget of $18,301,873.

The tax rate, if this budget is adopted, would be .4136 per $100 assessed value or .0008 higher than the 2012 rate of .405. That is an increase of 2 percent or .8 of a penny.

The 2013 Borough budget is $856,555.00 under the state-mandated “Appropriations CAP” or spending limit.

Also, the 2013 Borough budget is $659,925.00 under the state-mandated “Tax Levy CAP."

Council also voted unanimously for an ordinance to exceed the state-mandated spending limit by $193,289, but only for the purpose of establishing a "cap bank," as allowed by state law.

That means the Borough is banking that money in case it's needed next year, Maffei said. If the Borough has a need next year to exceed the spending cap, it can use the banked funds to help fill the gap and potentially avoid having to exceed the spending cap, he said.

After two years, those funds will no longer be available for that purpose, unless council adopts a new ordinance to re-appropriate funds.