Proposed Budget Has No Tax Increase
By ANNE HOLLIDAY
WESB/WBRR News Director
The City of Bradford’s proposed 2012 budget includes no tax increase and no increase in residential garbage rates.
“Any year you can get by without raising the cost of services and not raising taxes is a great year,” said Mayor Tom Riel after Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “The city’s finally getting turned around and heading in the right direction.”
The proposed total for general fund expenditures in 2012 is $8,383,733. Council passed the budget ordinance unanimously on first reading. It must still be passed on final reading, presumably during the December 27 council meeting.
Riel went on to say the city is “exploring a lot of alternative revenue streams that should begin to come in next year and we’ll continue on a positive note next year as well.”
One of the new revenue streams is a tax that would be levied on juke boxes and other mechanical devices. Establishments with the devices would have to get a license and pay an annual fee of $50 for each mechanical device and $25 for each juke box.
Delta Development Group consultants suggested that the city levy the tax, saying Bradford is one of the few municipalities in the state that doesn’t have it.
On a related note, council approved a $14,500 payment to Delta for its services. The fee is being paid through state DCED grant funding and local donations.
In other matters, council authorized the OECD to advertise for bids for the demolition of 19-23 Pine Street. The project is funded through a state Housing & Redevelopment assistance grant.
The “building has been damaged beyond repair and deemed a dangerous structure” by the code enforcement department. Demolition is expected to increase the value of surrounding buildings and help in moving forward with the Pine Street Bridge project, which is anticipated to be another gateway into the downtown area.
Also Tuesday, council renewed a lease with Microtech at the Bradford Area Multi-Tenant Center on Chestnut Street Extension, and approved certificates of appropriateness to the Bradford Landmark Society and Todd Hennard, owner of 45 Main Street (The Main Street Mercantile), to install awnings.
Council also granted free parking in the business districts from Friday through December 30. Council asks that merchants and their employees refrain from parking in the spaces to be used by shoppers.
Riel also commented on how nice the new holiday lights look downtown and in East Bradford. Volunteers from the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce and the community, as well as city electrician Dave DeFrank, spent several hours Saturday stringing the lights in Veterans Square.
Riel thanked “everyone involved in helping to put them up and decorate the Square, and I especially thank Sarah Dorn for her generous contribution.”
WESB/WBRR News Director
The City of Bradford’s proposed 2012 budget includes no tax increase and no increase in residential garbage rates.
“Any year you can get by without raising the cost of services and not raising taxes is a great year,” said Mayor Tom Riel after Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “The city’s finally getting turned around and heading in the right direction.”
The proposed total for general fund expenditures in 2012 is $8,383,733. Council passed the budget ordinance unanimously on first reading. It must still be passed on final reading, presumably during the December 27 council meeting.
Riel went on to say the city is “exploring a lot of alternative revenue streams that should begin to come in next year and we’ll continue on a positive note next year as well.”
One of the new revenue streams is a tax that would be levied on juke boxes and other mechanical devices. Establishments with the devices would have to get a license and pay an annual fee of $50 for each mechanical device and $25 for each juke box.
Delta Development Group consultants suggested that the city levy the tax, saying Bradford is one of the few municipalities in the state that doesn’t have it.
On a related note, council approved a $14,500 payment to Delta for its services. The fee is being paid through state DCED grant funding and local donations.
In other matters, council authorized the OECD to advertise for bids for the demolition of 19-23 Pine Street. The project is funded through a state Housing & Redevelopment assistance grant.
The “building has been damaged beyond repair and deemed a dangerous structure” by the code enforcement department. Demolition is expected to increase the value of surrounding buildings and help in moving forward with the Pine Street Bridge project, which is anticipated to be another gateway into the downtown area.
Also Tuesday, council renewed a lease with Microtech at the Bradford Area Multi-Tenant Center on Chestnut Street Extension, and approved certificates of appropriateness to the Bradford Landmark Society and Todd Hennard, owner of 45 Main Street (The Main Street Mercantile), to install awnings.
Council also granted free parking in the business districts from Friday through December 30. Council asks that merchants and their employees refrain from parking in the spaces to be used by shoppers.
Riel also commented on how nice the new holiday lights look downtown and in East Bradford. Volunteers from the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce and the community, as well as city electrician Dave DeFrank, spent several hours Saturday stringing the lights in Veterans Square.
Riel thanked “everyone involved in helping to put them up and decorate the Square, and I especially thank Sarah Dorn for her generous contribution.”
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