Montgomery County, PA

 

NORRISTOWN — The Montgomery County Commissioners adopted a $462.8 million budget for 2007 Thursday that will cut taxes to the level they were at in 2002.

 

The owner of a home assessed at $167,128, the county average, will pay $474.64 for the county portion of their real estate taxes next year, an $8.35 reduction.

 

The county tax rate will drop 0.05 mills from 2.89 to 2.84 mills. A mill equals $1 per $1,000 of assessed value. This reduction will return taxes to the level they were at before a small increase in 2005 to cover voter-approved debt for open space.

 

“We said we were going to run County government like a business and now we’re able to offer our residents a dividend in the form of a tax cut,” Montgomery County Commissioners Chairman Thomas Jay Ellis said.

 

“We could put that money aside to offset future tax increases, but we think our residents would rather have their money in their own hands, not ours,” Ellis said.

 

One major area of savings the Commissioners were able to find was in health insurance. The County’s carrier proposed a 16.5 percent increase in premium until the Commissioners introduced competition into the process and the increase was knocked back to 5.83 percent. The $2.5 million in savings is equivalent to the funds needed for the tax reduction.

 

The Commissioners introduced a new policy this year curtailing out-of-state travel to seminars and conferences that will save $250,000 and are in the process of purchasing an office tower near the Court House. The County will save up to $600,000 annually in the coming years by purchasing the building compared to what it was paying in rent, with additional room for growth.

 

The County also was able to save $2.3 million in contributions to its employee pension fund because of improving market conditions and expects that payment to be low again in the coming year.

 

While saving tax dollars is important, the County must continue to provide services to its residents and this administration has chosen to make public safety its top priority.

 

The County will spend an additional $400,000 from the general fund for public safety this year and is using $16 million in 2007 capital fund money to build an addition to our burn building where firefighters conduct live-fire training, an addition to our Emergency Operations Center and a new Tactical Response Training Center.

 

The Commissioners have also budgeted $1 million to install the Countywide Law enforcement Alerting and Safety System (CLASS), a silent alarm system, in every public, private, parochial and nursery school in the County.

 

Overall, County spending would go up $14.6 million, or 3.3 percent, over the current year. The revenues that the County receives through fees, billings and grants are expected to go up $14.1 million, or 5.2 percent.

 

The Commissioners also introduced a $39.8 million Capital Fund budget for 2007 that includes $4.7 million for a community revitalization program, $4.1 million for computer equipment and $4.2 million for improvements to roads and bridges.

 

The Commissioners are planning to spend $37.4 million on open space preservation in 2007 as well. That is part of the $150 million 10-year open space program that voters approved by an overwhelming 78 percent in 2003.