Sixteen Luzerne County municipalities increasing taxes

Sixteen of Luzerne County’s 76 municipalities are increasing local real estate taxes this year, according to new report prepared by the county treasurer’s office.

The highest increase — 2.5 mills — is in White Haven borough, where taxes are rising 55.55%, from 4.5 mills to 7 mills.

Warrior Run borough tops the increases on a percentage basis because taxes are doubling from 1.9 mills to 3.8 mills.

To figure out the tax payment, property owners must divide their assessed value by 1,000 and multiply it by the millage rate.

For example, the owner of a $100,000 property in White Haven will now pay $700 instead of $450, or an increase of $250.

In Warrior Run, the tax bill would rise from $190 to $380, or $190 more.

A full chart detailing the other millage increases accompanies this story. Here’s how tax bills will change in these municipalities, using a $100,000 property as an example:

• Lehman Township, $260 to $360 ($100 more)

• Nanticoke, $592.58 to $692.58 ($100 more)

• Sugar Notch, $450 to $550 ($100 more)

• Wilkes-Barre Township, $160 to $220 ($60 more)

• Luzerne, $321.91 to $376.92 ($55 more)

• Edwardsville, $395 to $445 ($50 more)

• Dallas Township, $200 to $230 ($30 more)

• Duryea, $190 to $220 ($30 more)

• Wright Township, $100 to $130 ($30 more)

• Swoyersville, $155 to $180 ($25 more)

• Larksville, $360 to $380 ($20 more)

• Nescopeck Township, $146 to $155 ($9 more)

• Freeland, $520 to $527 ($7 more)

• Hollenback Township, $50 to $55 ($5 more)

Municipal response

White Haven Borough Manager Linda Szoke, who also serves as the municipality’s zoning/code enforcement officer, said part of the increase stems from the borough’s decision to absorb the costs of garbage collection.

Borough property owners will no longer receive a garbage bill separate from their real estate tax bills, she said. The garbage bill would have increased to cover higher costs, she said.

More revenue also was necessary to fund higher utility expenses and other basic operating expense increases, Szoke said.

The borough also provides round-the-clock police protection, she said.

Sensitive to the burden on property owners, borough officials are not initiating any additional projects, including street paving, unless they are funded by grants, she said.

“They cut out as much as they can,” she said.

This is only the second or third time the borough raised taxes during the past decade, she said. More frequent, smaller increases could have lessened the impact in 2023, but property owners may not prefer that option, she said.

Covering expenses is particularly challenging for the borough because it is essentially landlocked and has a significant portion of tax-exempt property, largely due to state parks and trails, she said.

Warrior Run Borough Council President Larry Carbohn said he steadfastly resisted past recommendations to raise taxes by the borough auditor and others for years, determined to avoid asking property owners to pay more.

However, finances got “tighter and tighter” over the past two years, and borough officials ran out of options to compensate for rising utility, fuel and maintenance costs, he said.

The street department budget had to be increased from $23,000 to $35,000 because it was not realistic, in part due to wage competition from the growing warehouse industry, Carbohn said.

Like White Haven, Warrior Run doesn’t have much space left for new development, he said.

Borough Solicitor Patrick Aregood said he witnessed Warrior Run council members agonizing over the decision before concluding an increase was the only way to avoid compromising public services.

“I’ve never seen a borough council striving to maintain services so high while keeping taxes low,” Aregood said. “They go out and do work themselves as a council to make sure services are provided to the community.”

Lehman Township Supervisor David Sutton said he has served as a township supervisor for 33 years, and the 2023 increase is only the third “in all those years.”

“It was a hard choice on our part because certainly we don’t want to do it,” Sutton said.

In addition to rising across-the-board increases in fuel, health insurance and other operational expenses, the township had to add another full-time police officer to continue providing 24-7 coverage valued by residents, Sutton said. Part-time officers are no longer an option because nobody is applying for those positions, he said.

He noted the township also provides quality road maintenance and free recycling.

County taxes

This year’s $161.8 million county budget contains a 2.99% tax increase, which is lower than the 6.75% originally proposed and amounts to $24.50 more on the average property assessed at $132,776.

The county millage rate is now 6.3541.

Combined county/municipal tax bills are scheduled to be issued in most municipalities Feb. 14. Some may be later due to delays seating elected tax collectors, balancing tax claim records or other reasons, according to the county treasurer’s office.

For bills issued Feb. 14, property owners will have two months, or until April 13, to pay at a 2% discount.

The deadline to pay taxes at the full, or face, amount, will be June 13. A 10% penalty is added for taxes paid between June 14 and the end of the year.