DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – Bucks County commissioners approved a 2 million tax increase in 2024, raising the millage tax rate to 20.6604, on a 2-1 vote with Commissioner Gene DiGiraramo dissenting.
This means homeowners pay $2,066.04 in county real estate taxes for every $100,000 of assessed value.
County Chief Financial Officer David Boscola noted in his presentation that the final budget projects revenue of $487.05 million and expenditures of $486.8 million, resulting in a budget surplus of $250,000. .
Health, housing, and human services account for 50.5% of the budget, public safety 24.0%, and other services 25.5%. States contribute 43.5% of revenue, real estate taxes 31%, the federal government 12.5%, and provincial revenues and user fees 13.0%.
The preliminary budget presented on November 22 projected revenues of $466,827,200 and expenditures of $483,544,200, resulting in a deficit of $16,717,000. The deficit in the interim budget was eliminated by increasing taxes.
Comments from committee members
Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo made brief comments. “While I am going to vote against this budget, I want to thank you for your work and for helping us understand where we are going today.”
Vice Chair Diane Ellis Marseglia said of her vote in favor: “I’ve been here a long time, and I’ve voted for some tax increases over the years, and I’ve also voted against them when they didn’t increase taxes,” and they should. When this board took over last year, one of the reasons I voted against tax increases in the past when they should have been raised was because it created a structural deficit, and this board was stuck dealing with it. It has finally returned.
“On behalf of taxpayers, we tried not to deal with it during COVID-19 because we knew people were maxed out and couldn’t afford to raise taxes. The only reason to do this now (to vote against it) would be for political reasons.”
She continued: “We all know we have a structural defect. We all know where it came from and we’re going to have to raise taxes this year, which will be 2 mills. . It’s going to be less than $1.20 a week. I mean, we haven’t done it in years, so that’s very trivial. Frankly, we have 18 bargaining bodies that are pushing this. But it’s not their fault, it’s just the way it is. That’s the cost of benefits and salaries, and we’ve been deferring that as much as possible.”
Ellis Marseglia noted that all “color counties” have increased taxes this year, adding, “I think we’ve done a pretty good job in keeping this at $1.20 per week. ‘s budget, which will keep it stable for the rest of the decade. So I take great pride in voting yes today.”
Board President Robert Harvey Jr. said: When this committee was created at the end of 2019 after the 2019 elections, the first subcommittee to be organized and begin meetings was the Finance and Budget Subcommittee. It’s made up of Democrats and Republicans, and we asked it to look at the county’s finances and make recommendations. ”
Harvey pointed out that these people are not county employees; “These are business people, people with experience in investing, fixed income and running businesses.” They gave us some suggestions regarding the budget which we implemented. ”
Harvey noted that the county’s savings account is at the lowest possible level without degrading the bond rating. He said the 10% savings in the budget is no longer financially responsible for using it. Harvey also said that one of the measures recommended by the transition team in 2020 that commissioners did not implement was a 2 million tax increase.
“Potentially we could do a smaller tax increase,” he said.
“I have never voted for a tax increase in my 20 years as a town or county employee, so this is a first for me, keep that in mind,” Harvey pointed out. “We three commissioners are property owners in the county, so we are raising property taxes on ourselves.”
major contracts
Commissioners voted to approve several large expenditures. Lenape Valley Foundation, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, received a $7,587,139 contract with the county contributing 4.1% to provide mental health, intellectual disability, and early intervention services.
A $3,132,443 contract with the county contributing 4.6 percent was approved with Penn Foundation Inc. of St. Luke’s Penn Foundation, Sellersville, Pennsylvania, which provides mental health, intellectual disability, and early intervention services.
Additionally, a $1,474,400 contract, with the county contributing 10%, was awarded to Sunny Days Early Childhood Developmental Services, Inc., Media, Pennsylvania, to provide early intervention services.
The Community Services Foundation of Pipersville, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $3,160,000 contract with the county contributing 20 percent to provide a variety of services to dependents and juvenile delinquents.
Additionally, a $766,000 contract with Prime Care Medical of Harrisburg for Medication Assisted Treatment Program services and medications was approved.
Centerstone Insurance and Financial Services, Benefit Mall, Phoenix, Arizona, has been awarded a $2,241,925 contract to provide stop-loss insurance for medical/prescription claims with Unum Life Insurance.