Local Government TV

▼

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Hanover Holds Line on Taxes For Ninth Straight Year

Blogger's Note: Because I was sidelined by basketball, I was unable to tell you about Hanover Township's final meeting of the year on Tuesday night. Fortunately, Agent 25 was there. Below is his/her report, lightly edited.

Mark Tanczos commended by John Diacogiannis
Hanover Township (Northampton County) Supervisors, at their final meeting of the year on December 19, adopted a 2018 budget that will maintain a stable tax rate and spare residents a tax hike.

The millage rate, which has remained the same since 2008 and includes a fire tax of 0.5 mills, will hold steady at 3.90 mills. The township is expected to receive $2.1 million from property taxes next year. The Earned Income Tax and local Services Tax will be 1 percent and $52, respectively. The balanced general fund is estimated to have $8.6 million on hand in 2018, which represents a $20,579.00 decrease from last year.

In other business, the board unanimously passed an ordinance establishing a Taxpayer Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights provides taxpayers with a procedure to contest the imposition of Act 511 taxes if they believe they were unfairly charged. The ordinance covers the Per Capita Tax, Business Privilege Tax and the Earned Income Tax.

H.A. Berkheimer, Inc. collects the township’s Per Capita and Business Privilege taxes. Keystone Collections Group collects residents’ Earned Income Taxes. Residents can request a copy of their rights from the collection agencies, at no charge, according to the ordinance.
If one of the collection agencies decides that a resident owes additional taxes, it must inform residents in writing why it reached the decision, including the amount due and the legal grounds for the decision.

If it is determined that a resident owes additional taxes or if a resident’s request for a tax refund is denied, the resident can file a petition with Keystone or Berkheimer to appeal the decision.

The board also passed unanimously an ordinance rewarding volunteer firefighters with tax credits, similar to an ordinance adopted in Bethlehem Tp.

Joan Rosenthal honored for her service. 
The Board recognized Vice Chairman Mark J. Tanczos for his service to the Township. Supervisor Tanczos decided not to seek reelection this past November. Mr. Tanczos served on the Township’s Planning Commission from June 21, 1993 as Vice Chair 2000-2002 and Chair 2002-2008. In 2008 he was appointed to the Board to fill the unexpired term of Dr. Frank Colon and was elected to an additional term.

Finally, the Board recognized Joan R. Rosenthal for her service to the Township. Mrs. Rosenthal is stepping down from the Zoning Hearing Board at the end of the year. Mrs. Rosenthal served on the Hanover Township Planning Commission from October 9, 1979 through October 21, 1984; on the Hanover Township Zoning Hearing Board from January 3, 1984 through January 27, 1987; and again May 23, 2000 through December 31, 2017. She was also a member of the Board of Supervisors from January 27, 1987 through January 3, 2010.
at

15 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 21, 2017 at 8:55 AM

    Curious as to what their police protection budget is compared to Bethlehem Twp?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bernie O'HareDecember 21, 2017 at 9:22 AM

    I support regionalization and would like to see a county-wide police department eventually. Colonial and BT both have very good and very equivalent police forces. Contrary to what you are obviously thinking, regionalization does not decrease cost for most municipalities. It may even be more expensive. The question is what kind of police force do you want?You are apparently unhappy with paying what it takes for a professional police department, so you eventually would be like Lower Nazareth's Nagle or the Bath Borough Council members who chose $ over safety. I have posted about BT's police budget.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 21, 2017 at 3:37 PM

    These guys are constantly giving each other awards. Haven't they all been in government like forever.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bernie O'HareDecember 21, 2017 at 3:52 PM

    You hate good government, don't you?

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousDecember 21, 2017 at 4:26 PM

    Diacog and the Fin have thin skins. Why do you do these fluff pieces on people you love?

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousDecember 21, 2017 at 5:17 PM

    Finnegan is a Good Man !

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousDecember 21, 2017 at 5:26 PM

    Of course he is. Salt of the earth.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bernie O'HareDecember 21, 2017 at 6:44 PM

    Finnigan's detractor never learned how to spell his name properly.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Bernie O'HareDecember 21, 2017 at 7:54 PM

    I deleted a comment that just posted blatantly false assertions.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousDecember 21, 2017 at 9:13 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Bernie O'HareDecember 21, 2017 at 9:40 PM

    I am again deleting your false assertions. Most of the land surrounding the airport that can be developed is in other municipalities. And even if something was in the planning stage, it would be years before there was any revenue. You are just a hater.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousDecember 22, 2017 at 5:56 AM

    Finnegan is one of the highest paid managers in the area for a Township with a relatively small budget. The Salary and increase for BT was just showcased. Any increase for Jay in 2018?

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousDecember 22, 2017 at 9:14 AM

    @ 0855 am. Bethlehem Township pays approximately 3 times as much as Hanover Township for police protection. [5,637,363 to 1,893,460]. This results in a cost per officer ratio of $161,067 BT to $145,650 HT. Also, cost per/capita is 221.31 in Bethlehem Township to 159.58 in Hanover. The % of budget in BT is 30.6% and 21.9% in Hanover.
    The regional concept in this case pays off for Hanover, However, it is at the expense of the nimrods in Lower Nazareth Township. Obviously the fund balance difference of 8.6 Million in Hanover versus the 2.0 million in Bethlehem Township is a telling factor. Call it a spending problem, inept government or loose administration, it's an abomination!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Bernie O'HareDecember 22, 2017 at 5:54 PM

    9:14, aka Nagle, give it a rest already. You hate Colonisl. You hate Buzzy. We all know why. It has nothing to do with dollars and cents.

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousDecember 23, 2017 at 9:18 AM

    There is no mystery science.. it shows the taxes were to high for last 10 years and the taxpayer has been screwed over and over again- Stop the BS

    ReplyDelete

You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.