City Residents to See Tax Increase
By ANNE HOLLIDAY
WESB/WBRR News Director
Taxes are going up in the City of Bradford, but not as much as city officials originally thought they would.
The millage rate has gone up by 8/10 of a mil, which means a person with a home assessed at $25,000 would see a tax increase of $20. Someone with a $50,000 home would see an increase of $40.
"That's a far cry from what we were looking at a few months ago," said Mayor Tom Riel.
He said several months ago the city was looking at a millage increase of close to 4.5.
"Through the diligent efforts of the department heads, employees and city council members and (City Clerk) John Peterson who labored tirelessly on this we were able to reduce that by hundreds of thousands of dollars," Riel said.
The millage ordinance still has to be read a second time, on December 22, before it's final. It can and may change, Riel said, adding that if it does change it could go either up or down.
That millage increase is far less than most people were expecting," he said.
Council also approved, on first reading, the wage ordinance that includes the laying off of two police officers and two workers from the refuse department.
Riel said council did not take the decision lightly.
"We don't take any joy or pleasure in having to do these unpleasant things," Riel said. "It's no joy to know that you're telling somebody that they're no longer going to have a job or they won't have healthcare for their wives and their children."
"But council feels that they had their backs up against the wall," Riel said. "We couldn't place the entire financial shortcomings just on the taxpayer. We had to go to the employees and ask the employees to try to help us out … through wage freezes and through helping us out with healthcare. That was met with mixed results."
Council did, however, apply for a grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency that, if approved, would bring the two police officers back.
The grants are awarded in March.
In a short and subdued meeting, council also approved on first reading an amendment to the solid waste ordinance.
The amendment states that a fee of $10 per item shall be charged for all white goods and appliances, and must be pre-paid before pickup.
A fee of $5 per item shall be charged for the disposal of large furniture items, including couches, mattresses and/or box springs and swing sets.
The fee for all residential housing for one weekly pickup of an average of four bags is set at $20. An excess bag fee of $1 per bag will be charged on accounts that continually exceed the four-bag average.
Commercial accounts for one weekly pickup of an average of four bags will pay $20. Two pickups is $40; three pickups, $60; four pickups, $80; and five pickups, $100.
In other matters, Councilman Bob Onuffer announced that the city's workman's compensation insurance premium decreased from $270,509 to $236, 469 – a reduction of $34,040.
He said this is due to the establishment of the Certified Safety Committee, which gives the city a 5 percent premium credit.
Onuffer wanted to thank employees for "an excellent year," and especially note that in October there were no reported injuries or accidents. This is the first time that's happened in six years, he said.
"I really appreciate the work and effort that's been put into this," Onuffer said.
He noted that former Councilman Dan Costello got it started and Onuffer decided to keep it going.
"It really did work," he said, "and it's going to work even better."
Also Tuesday, council appointed Michael Campogiani to the position of probationary firefighter effective Wednesday.
This is not a new hire. He replaces Cory Migliaccio, who resigned.
WESB/WBRR News Director
Taxes are going up in the City of Bradford, but not as much as city officials originally thought they would.
The millage rate has gone up by 8/10 of a mil, which means a person with a home assessed at $25,000 would see a tax increase of $20. Someone with a $50,000 home would see an increase of $40.
"That's a far cry from what we were looking at a few months ago," said Mayor Tom Riel.
He said several months ago the city was looking at a millage increase of close to 4.5.
"Through the diligent efforts of the department heads, employees and city council members and (City Clerk) John Peterson who labored tirelessly on this we were able to reduce that by hundreds of thousands of dollars," Riel said.
The millage ordinance still has to be read a second time, on December 22, before it's final. It can and may change, Riel said, adding that if it does change it could go either up or down.
That millage increase is far less than most people were expecting," he said.
Council also approved, on first reading, the wage ordinance that includes the laying off of two police officers and two workers from the refuse department.
Riel said council did not take the decision lightly.
"We don't take any joy or pleasure in having to do these unpleasant things," Riel said. "It's no joy to know that you're telling somebody that they're no longer going to have a job or they won't have healthcare for their wives and their children."
"But council feels that they had their backs up against the wall," Riel said. "We couldn't place the entire financial shortcomings just on the taxpayer. We had to go to the employees and ask the employees to try to help us out … through wage freezes and through helping us out with healthcare. That was met with mixed results."
Council did, however, apply for a grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency that, if approved, would bring the two police officers back.
The grants are awarded in March.
In a short and subdued meeting, council also approved on first reading an amendment to the solid waste ordinance.
The amendment states that a fee of $10 per item shall be charged for all white goods and appliances, and must be pre-paid before pickup.
A fee of $5 per item shall be charged for the disposal of large furniture items, including couches, mattresses and/or box springs and swing sets.
The fee for all residential housing for one weekly pickup of an average of four bags is set at $20. An excess bag fee of $1 per bag will be charged on accounts that continually exceed the four-bag average.
Commercial accounts for one weekly pickup of an average of four bags will pay $20. Two pickups is $40; three pickups, $60; four pickups, $80; and five pickups, $100.
In other matters, Councilman Bob Onuffer announced that the city's workman's compensation insurance premium decreased from $270,509 to $236, 469 – a reduction of $34,040.
He said this is due to the establishment of the Certified Safety Committee, which gives the city a 5 percent premium credit.
Onuffer wanted to thank employees for "an excellent year," and especially note that in October there were no reported injuries or accidents. This is the first time that's happened in six years, he said.
"I really appreciate the work and effort that's been put into this," Onuffer said.
He noted that former Councilman Dan Costello got it started and Onuffer decided to keep it going.
"It really did work," he said, "and it's going to work even better."
Also Tuesday, council appointed Michael Campogiani to the position of probationary firefighter effective Wednesday.
This is not a new hire. He replaces Cory Migliaccio, who resigned.
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