Dec 27, 2011 By Josh Krysak heraldstandard.Com 1 min read

MASONTOWN – Borough residents will be dealing with some additional costs in the coming year after Masontown council adopted a 2012 budget that more than doubles the current real estate taxes for Masontown home owners and voted to increase water rates for municipal water service.

By a 6-1 vote Tuesday, council adopted the $2,860,000 spending plan for the coming year that includes a 2 mill increase for property taxes, moving from 1.426 to 3.426 mills.

With $50,000 being the median assessed value in the borough, the 2-mill increase will translate to about $100 more a year for the average property owner.

Council President Harry Lee said the increase was one measure council took to try and offset rising costs across the board while maintaining borough services and during a planning meeting earlier this month it was pointed out that the millage rate increase will also be used to offset a deficit of more than $250,000 in the 2011 spending package.

For more details, read tomorrow’s HeraldStandard.com.