On the heels of a proposed 8% tax hike in Montgomery County next year, Towamencin Township taxpayers may face a 25% increase in property taxes as well now that supervisors last month unanimously voted to advertise the budget for adoption this month.
Finance Director Adam Szumski has proposed a tax increase of 1.1315 mills, from 4.558, which was set in 2021, to 5.6895 mills, to generate an additional $900,000 in revenue for the township. Almost half of that – $400,000 – would go to personnel costs and interfund transfers. The rest is earmarked for capital equipment improvements, per The Reporter.
For a property assessed at around $157,000, it would mean about $120 more in taxes, totaling out at about $600 for next year. A property assessed around $200,000 would see about an $800 property tax bill next year, per the report.
“We, the board, recognize that we are not valuing our employees enough and want to provide them with a living wage,” said Supervisor Joyce Snyder after the meeting, when asked why the need for a 25% tax increase. She added that the expenses simply exceeded the income.
“The employees have not been paid commiserate with the outstanding job they have done in difficult circumstances,” said Snyder.
She said if prior boards had been raising taxes gradually, the township would not be in this situation.
“There are only two ways to increase revenue: increase taxes or increase the tax base,” she said. “We need to do both to keep up with increased needs.”
According to Szumski, who has been in his role with the township for seven months, the township was faced with “several unanticipated capital and maintenance needs in some other funds,” such as emergency bridge repairs on Keeler Road and a community pool repair evaluation. The general fund, pool fund and parks and recreation fund were budgeted “with very thin fund balance margins,” per the report.
According to the report, the general fund will raise $9.6 million in revenue and spend $9.3 million, and the sewer fund – which had no rate hike, even though it was suggested during the sewer sale debacle that a 26% increase was needed – will bring in $5.4 million in revenue against $4.4 million in expenses.
Read more on the proposed tax increase here.
There is tax relief out there for not only Towamencin taxpayers, but any taxpayer, however.
For those who have a primary residence in the township, the taxpayer may apply for Homestead (or Farmstead) Exclusion, which reduces the amount of property taxes due to the township and school district. You can save on property taxes by allowing the district to exclude a portion of your home’s value from assessment.
From 2002 to 2014, the Homestead Exclusion amount in Towamencin was $59,000. It was reduced to $45,000 in 2015 and increased to $50,000 last year.
Property owners must prove that the property in their municipality is the primary residence. Commercial and rental properties do not qualify for the program. To take part in the Homestead of Farmstead Exclusion, property owners must register with Montgomery County by Dec. 15 for the next tax year. Download a Homestead Exclusion application here.
Furthermore, there is a PA-1000 Property Tax/Rent Rebate program for eligible homeowners, and the school district is also running a property tax rebate program.
In September, the school board voted unanimously for a resolution for a one-time 70% boost to the district property tax and rent rebate program for eligible homeowners and renters, with a financial impact to the district of about $250,000, aligning itself with this year’s state bonus rebate program.
The rent rebate program benefits eligible Pennsylvanians ages 65 and older, widows and widowers ages 50 and older, and people with disabilities age 18 and older. To be eligible for a rebate, the claimant must have lived at least one day of a claim year, owned, and occupied and paid taxes or rented and occupied and paid rent for the claim year during the time period the claimant was alive, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.
To be eligible for the North Penn School District rebate, the taxpayer must first be approved for the state rebate.
One cannot make more than $35,000 a year as a homeowner and $15,000 a year as a renter, and it considers half of Social Security income.
North Penn School District works on a fiscal year and passes its budget by July 1 each year. By law, the district can raise taxes each year as much as 3.5 percent. It is unknown yet what the tax increase, if any, will be next year. Click here for information on the school district rebate program
See also:
Montgomery Township Residents Sound Off on Proposed Penn Medicine Ambulatory Healthcare Center
Upper Gwynedd Pursuing $1.15 Million Grant to Help Acquire Martin Tract
Discover Lansdale Receives $1 Million Grant for Lansdale Freight House
