A Mechanicsville man told Schuylkill County Commissioners last week that they need to get their house in order before he loses his.
Steven Moyer addressed Commissioenrs during their weekly board meeting at the Courthouse. His presence came just a week after the County government introduced its 2025 Preliminary Budget. The budget calls for a 3.5-mill tax increase. A final budget will be approved later this month.
Moyer, like many in Schuylkill County, did not take the news of the proposed property tax increase too well. For a lot of residents, the County tax increase comes in a year when local schools and municipalities also raised tax rates.
And last Wednesday, Moyer showed up for the Commissioners board meeting to let them know about his frustrations.
He told Commissioners that he retired in 2015 and believed he was “set.” His house was paid off but now, he fears that in a few years – with more tax increases that he seems to think are inevitable, and not just from the County government – he’ll be out of the home where he’s lived for 35 years.
Moyer said the proposed tax increase will have him paying $900 more in taxes in 2025.
“It’s outrageous,” Moyer said. “I’m very, very upset. You have no idea how upset I am.”
He then went on to blame the County government for poor financial planning and an unwillingness to make substantive cuts to its budget.
“You guys saw this shortfall coming and did nothing about it. You did nothing about it,” Moyer said. “Why couldn’t you do a 10% cut across the board in every department? How much money do you folks want from us? How much do you hold the county spending accountable? You keep raising taxes. You are not monitoring each department.”
After hearing Moyer’s concerns, Commissioners Chairman Larry Padora said the County went through every line in the 2025 budget looking for ways to makes cuts and “We are still looking for more cuts,” he said.
Padora also repeated what he said the previous week in blaming some of the tax increase on the County needing to fund 9-1-1 services with more of its own money and a significant jump in Schuylkill County Children & Youth Services costs.
The County has also blamed increased healthcare costs for its employees as a driver of the proposed tax increase.
ALSO READ:
- Schuylkill Commissioners Approve Preliminary Budget with 3.5-Mill Increase in Property Taxes
- BUDGET CRUNCH: Schuylkill County Deficit Currently at $13+ Million
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