FOUNTAIN SPRINGS - The Butler Township supervisors held a special meeting Friday morning to formally adopt the 2013 operating budget that includes a real estate tax increase of 2.5 mills.
Supervisors Chairman David Kessler and Supervisor Bob Burns voted to approve the spending plan of $1,667,343, with a breakdown of funds that includes general fund, $1,213,613; liquid fuels fund, $292,606; fire fund, $47,172; light fund, $85,718; and day care fund, $28,234.
The tax increase raises the rate from 9.15 to 11.65 mills. Each mill brings in approximately $50,000 in tax revenue.
There were several reasons for the need of a tax increase, township Secretary Kate Staudenmeier said.
"The situation with Centax has tax revenue short by $50,000," Staudenmeier said. "We're down 25 percent of the earned income tax that we get."
The Central Tax Bureau of Pennsylvania, or Centax, was hired in 2010 by the Schuylkill County Tax Collection Committee to collect earned income taxes for county municipalities and school districts. Due to failure to process tax bills and payments, the committee in June dropped Centax, which has since filed for bankruptcy, and hired Berkheimer Associates, Bangor, Northampton County, to process the backlog of payments.
"I received a letter from (Berkheimer) that they were working diligently on this," Staudenmeier said.
There are other factors in the tax increase, according to Staudenmeier.
"We're owed $18,000 in taxes from Saint Catherine (Medical Center Fountain Springs), and our workers compensation and liability insurance premiums went up 10 percent, and other health care increases," Staudenmeier said.
There are also salary increases for union employees as per labor contracts, Staudenmeier said.
In other news, during the supervisors' regular monthly meeting Tuesday, Kessler announced that certain types of vehicles cannot be parked along township streets.
"We want to make sure that campers, disabled vehicles and other vehicles be removed," Kessler said.
"Also get boats and boat trailers off our roads so we can plow snow so we don't damage them or damage our equipment," Burns said.
"Violators will be cited. The police are aware of this," Kessler said.
The supervisors will hold their reorganization meeting at 6 p.m. Jan. 7 at the municipal building.