Good job
City officials applauded for tax reduction Uniontown City residents got a late Christmas gift of sorts as city council adopted a $7.65 million spending plan last week that includes a 1 mill reduction of the property tax rate. By a 4-1 vote, council adopted the spending plan, which drops millage rates from 13.235 mills to 12.235 mills.
At the new rate, property owners will pay $122.35 on every $10,000 of assessed value of their properties, and the city will lose $271,723 in revenue next year as a result.
Under the current tax rate, property owners pay $132.35 on every $10,000 of assessed valuation. The current tax rate was the result of a 4.5-mill increase that was enacted in 2009, after Mayor Ed Fike reported that the city inherited more than $1 million in debt from the previous administration.
We criticized the city in this space earlier last month for passing a tentative budget without a hint of a tax reduction, so we applaud the mayor and council for their efforts in lowering the rate for 2011.
Still there’s a ways to go as residents of neighboring North Union and South Union townships pay far less in property taxes than city residents. While the rates may never be comparable given that the city has paid police and fire departments, it’s important the city officials do everything they can to keep the gap from widening further.
It would be beneficial for Mayor Fike and council to come up with a plan on how to keep the city solvent instead of lunging from crisis to crisis. Fike and council should present their plans to city residents for their approval or disapproval. Maybe given the choice, city residents wouldn’t mind paying extra in taxes for police and fire services. Or maybe not.
Either way, city residents should be involved in helping Uniontown officials deal with the problems facing the city. At least then, city residents would be prepared for any possible tax increases or service cuts down the road. Setting a course ahead of time and letting the public in on it would go a long way toward managing expectations.
Of course, we also feel that hiring a city manager would be the city’s best bet in becoming financially healthy as we’ve said in this space in the past. A qualified city manager would have both the time and expertise to dedicate toward improving the city’s financial standing and more than pay for the position.
Why Uniontown hasn’t hired a city manager like many other municipalities, some much smaller than the city, is still a mystery to us. But it can be done and should be done in the coming year. After all, the 1 mill reduction for 2011 is welcome, but there’s still much work to be done.