Pottsville is doubling the tax it collects on each of the PA Skill machines operating in the city.
On Monday, the first reading of an ordinance amending the Mechanical Devices fee was read. Barring any changes, it’ll be up for a vote in January 2025.
The new tax will be $150 per machine. It’s currently $75.
This change is expected to generate $22,000 in revenue. City officials said Monday that the estimation in revenue for next year is based on the amount of machines operating in 2024. That means there are about 146 machines currently taxed in Pottsville.
That money will hardly make much of an impact on the City’s overall revenue expected in 2025, a little more than $8.4 million. In order to balance the budget next year, Pottsville was forced to raise property taxes 3 mills.
However, during the Council meeting on Monday, Mayor Mark Atkinson said that because police spending takes up all of the revenue generated from property taxes, the rest of Pottsville is being run almost entirely on revenue generated from fees, etc.
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