The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

October 1, 2008

Don’t reduce property taxes, Greenville mayor urges council

By Monica Pryts

GREENVILLE — Greenville Mayor Richard H. Miller has issued a budget message to borough council members with suggestions that include property taxes not be reduced.

During budget talks in 2007, Miller said he and council were “bitterly divided” over borough finances. Many residents agreed with him that some of the borough’s $1 million surplus could have been devoted to a tax cut, he said.

Greenville ended 2007 with a $2.2 million fund balance, but council has already earmarked most of that money for capital improvement projects, emergencies and debt payments, Borough Manager Ryan T. Eggleston said Monday.

Until recently, Miller was ready for another discussion about the surplus with more supporting details.

“That was then and this is now. The failing economy and reduction in tax collections at local and state levels require caution. There should be no real estate tax reduction in 2009,” he said.

State officials are already notifying local governments and organizations that funds originally earmarked in Pennsylvania’s 2008-09 budget will flow more slowly or not at all, and income from local real estate and wage taxes are behind projections, Miller said.

In preparing for the 2009 budget, Miller requests the process reflects these commitments from council:

• Due to the “unforeseeable” future, Act 47 tools such as wage tax powers and priority on state funds need to be deployed to their fullest extent.

• Nearly 40 percent of Greenville’s properties are owned by tax-exempt entities. Ask them to contribute to the borough in lieu of taxes in the same spirit of UPMC Horizon, Greenville.

“I will sign each and every letter of request if staff will prepare them,” Miller said.

• Every council member needs to take ownership in the budget process, unlike recent budgets and oversight of finances.

• Produce a more “business-like” document, as council is required to put forth a balanced budget.

Miller ended the message by saying he believes his requests are very reasonable and he’ll conduct his review of the budget to those standards.

“You should not need to gather five votes to override my veto this year. Working together, I also should not have to cast a tie-breaking vote as happened in November of 2006,” he said.

Miller vetoed the 2008 budget and the ordinance that allows Greenville to set higher earned income taxes because of Act 47. Council voted to override both vetoes.

Act 47 is the state’s debt recovery program for financially distressed communities. Greenville adopted an Act 47 plan in 2003 and borough officials have said they’re working toward exiting the program by 2014.

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