Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Property taxes to rise across Philadelphia suburbs

The countywide dollar increases are modest - on average, about $33 per household in county taxes in Chester, and $20 in Delaware. However, some municipal increases will add more than $100 to annual bills.

And the towns raising their millages on top of the county increases include places in Delaware County where tax rates already are among the highest in the region - and the nation.

"Upper Darby is off the charts," said Ed Silbertstein, who owns a home there that the county estimates is worth $285,000. His annual tax bill is now $11,542; the majority of that goes to the schools, and some to the county, but the township?s 7 percent increase adds $237.

Mayor Thomas Micozzie said in his budget message that 95 percent of the increase is going to police and fire services, including $4.7 million in pension contributions.

Taxes in Marcus Hook are going up 13 percent, or about $100 per household. Statewide, about 35 percent of the boroughs have raised 2013 real estate levies, estimated Edward Knittel, senior director of education for the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs.

Aside from the larger causes, the reasons can be as idiosyncratic as the towns themselves.

Take Riegelsville, in the northeast corner of Bucks County, where only 868 folks were counted in the 2010 census. It was spared any county tax increase, but the borough upped its rate 4.3 percent, from 11.75 mills to 12.25.

The 415 property owners in town, who pay $263 on average, will see about $10 to $15 added to their bills.

Primarily, that's to pay for the sudden loss of $200,000 to $300,000 that had been donated by a longtime benefactor to the ambulance service, Borough Council President Thomas A. Stinnett said.

But that's not the only reason. Some of the increase is targeted for repairs on the historically certified town hall.

Source: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/suburban_pa/20130128_Property_taxes_to_rise_across_Philadelphia_suburbs.html

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