Will your taxes increase this year? A look at municipal budgets across the Centre Region
With the new year comes new municipal budgets and potentially tax increases for residents.
Municipalities were required to adopt their 2024 budgets by the end of December 2023. In the Centre Region area, which includes State College and Bellefonte boroughs, and College, Patton, Harris, Halfmoon and Ferguson townships, three municipalities have a tax increase this year.
Residents in the Bellefonte borough, Patton Township and Harris Township will have a tax increase due to various factors, like increased costs to services and goods, and lack of real estate growth.
The Centre County Government adopted its budget without a real estate tax increase.
Included below are the seven Centre Region area municipal budgets, as well as the Centre County government’s budget.
Centre County
The Centre County board of commissioners adopted the 2024 county budget with no tax increase for the 14th consecutive year. The proposed operating budget is $113,137,810, a 6% increase from the 2023 budget.
The budget includes general fund reserves and American Rescue Plan Act funds to maintain current funding levels and county services.
Operating budget: $113,137,810, capital budget is $28,590,014. Total operating and capital expenses is $141,727,824
Real Estate Tax Rate: 7.84 mills; no tax increase
Budget highlights: At $28.6 million, the 2024 proposed capital budget is much larger than in previous years. Richard Killian, the county’s director of budget and finance, said during a November 2023 county meeting that this is due to renovations at the courthouse and Centre Crest, and Willowbank maintenance and design for future use.
Bellefonte Borough
Bellefonte residents will see a tax increase with the 2024 budget for the emergency medical services, fire department fund and street lighting fund.
In the budget introduction letter, Borough Manager Ralph Stewart wrote that despite challenges, the borough balanced this year’s general fund budget with $30,000 of reserves from last year.
Because of that, a tax increase was not needed for the general fund. The budget does include millage increases of 0.05 mills for the emergency medical services fund and the fire department fund, and 0.50 mills for the street lighting fund.
Stewart wrote the borough’s growth in revenues, which are mostly property taxes and earned income taxes, doesn’t keep up with the cost of services. The borough’s geographic coverage area is just 1.8 square miles.
“Bellefonte Borough is honored to be the County Seat and laid out like a small city. This honor comes with a high percentage of non-taxable real estate including county buildings, school buildings, parks, cemeteries, libraries, post offices, and fire houses,” Stewart wrote. “With little room for new homes that bring increased real estate revenue and new wage earners (who move into the new homes), Bellefonte Borough has a real financial struggle in maintaining the same level of services each year without a millage rate increase.”
Total budget: $14,661,165
Real Estate Tax Rate: 18.865; increase of 0.6 mills
Patton Township
Patton Township is one of the few Centre Region municipalities that will see a real estate tax increase this year. The board approved the 2024 budget with a .04 mill increase, the first time the board has increased taxes since 2012.
The budget states a tax increase is needed due to factors including increased costs in regional services provided by the Centre Region COG as well as an increase to the costs of material used for some services, like asphalt, salt and line painting.
Expenditures: $16,396,480
Revenue: $15,499,287, plus $877,193 from the fund balance
Real Estate Tax Rate: 9.9 mills, reflects a 0.4 mill increase to the general fund.
Budget highlights: The budget introduction states 2024 will bring the start of a major stormwater project along Meeks Lane, spongy moth spraying will continue and the signal coordination project on the Atherton Street corridor will be completed. Several parks projects will also begin this year, like replacing equipment in Oakwood Park and beginning design work on the next phase of Grays Woods Park.
Harris Township
For the second year, Harris Township residents will see a tax increase this year. The 2024 township budget shows a 1.16 mill increase.
The township’s staff went to “great lengths to minimize increases” within the budget, the budget introduction states. Several planned projects were postponed — including the installation of new windows in the meeting room, a new fire hydrant and improvements to Kaywood Park, the budget states.
Mark Boeckel, township manager, wrote in the budget memo that revenues need to increase.
“Despite staff’s efforts to reduce township costs, the ability to continue providing the same volume and quality of services to the community cannot be accomplished without increasing revenues,” Boeckel wrote. “Real estate growth in the township slowed considerably in recent years and with higher interest rates, transfer of real estate are also anticipated to decline.”
Expenditures: $4,294,433
Revenue: $3,890,607, with $403,826 from the fund balance.
Real Estate Tax Rate: An increase of 1.16 mills
Budget highlights: To eliminate a deficit in the 2024 budget, the staff recommended increasing the fire hydrant millage from 0.3 to 0.36 mills, renewing a special projects/capital purposes tax of 0.5 millage that was scheduled to sunset at the end of last year, utilizing $150,000 of the health insurance reserve fund balance to offset increases in the general fund, and increasing the general fund millage by 1.1 mills.
State College Borough
The State College Borough Council adopted the 2024 budget with no tax increase, after raising taxes in 2023. This year’s budget shows the sanitary sewer, refuse and parking rates will remain the same as well.
The budget is not “structurally balanced,” Borough Manager Tom Fountaine wrote in the budget, but there are general fund reserves to fund the budget without raising taxes.
“This is largely due to the one-time American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) grant funds received by the Borough during 2021-2022. It is important to recognize that long-term projects for pensions and capital projects reflect the need to close the funding gap over the next few years and bring the operating budget back into balance,” Fountaine wrote.
Expenditures: $86.8 million
Revenue: $72.4 million, with $14,289,462 allocated from fund balances
Capital Improvements: $32.6 million
Real Estate Tax Rate: 19.88 mills; no tax increase
Budget highlights: Budget includes funds for several projects, including the Calder Way improvements between Fraser and McAllister streets, the Parkway multimodal path construction, improvements to the Orchard Park Bike Path and construction of the pedestrian/bicycle bridge in Walnut Spring Park.
College Township
The College Township Council adopted its 2024 budget at the end of December 2023 with no tax increase.
Expenditures: $12,028,764
Revenue: $10,266,546, with $1,762,218 from the fund balance
Real Estate Tax Rate: 6.1 mills; no tax increase. The millage for Parks and Recreation fund increased by 0.17 mills and millage for the library fund increased by .02 mills; the millage for the debt service fund decreased by 0.19 mills to offset those increases.
Budget highlights: Capital projects include equipment replacements, road projects, signals and signage, building and grounds, stormwater and other, and parks and recreation.
Halfmoon Township
After a tax decrease in 2023, Halfmoon Township residents will not see a change in their real estate taxes this year. No tax increase (or decrease) is proposed as part of the 2024 budget.
The operating budget is $1,200,307.49.
Included in this year’s budget is a line item of $11,000 for park equipment. Projects included in the budget include a GaGa Ball Pit for Municipal Lane Park, permanent-mount disc golf targets for Autumn Meadow Park, benches, swing replacements, mulch, and dead tree removal.
Ferguson Township
The Ferguson Township residents will not see a tax increase with the 2024 budget.
Centrice Martin, township manager, wrote in a letter accompanying the budget that fund reserves were used to balance the budget so a tax increase wasn’t necessary.
“Although this budget is not structurally balanced, there are ample fund reserves to fund the budget without fee increases or a tax increase. It is recognized that long-term projections reflect the need to close the funding gap over the next few years for future budgets to balance,” Martin wrote. The budget includes $2.5 million for a Park Hills Drainageway project and $2.6 million in contributions to the Centre Region Council of Governments — together, these two items represent 18% of the total budget, Martin wrote.
“Cost increases in projects such as Park Hills Drainage and Cecil Irvin Park Phase 2 construction, although partially offset with grants, represent one-time project costs. However, the CRCOG contributions increased over 10 percent above the 2023 contribution, a trend that continues to rise annually,” Martin said.
Expenditures: $26.2 million
Revenue: $20.2 million, reserves to fund the difference
Real Estate Tax: 2.422 mills; no increase
Budget highlights: Project improvements in the budget include continuing to construct the Park Hills Drainageway Improvements, installing traffic signals at Sandy Drive and Science Park Road, completing Suburban Park Phase 1 construction, constructing Cecil Irvin Park Phase 2, and constructing pedestrian and mobility safety improvements in Pine Grove Mills, Martin wrote in the budget introductory letter.
