Not All Tax Bills Created Equal

By David Mekeel, Reading Eagle, Pa.

Nov. 4–Location, location, location.

It’s the mantra of real estate agents around the globe. But is it really such a big deal?

When it comes to property tax bills, you bet it is.

If, for example, someone who owned a home in Lower Alsace Township moved to Mount Penn, that person would see a big difference.

Both municipalities are in the same county and school district — Antietam. But Mount Penn’s municipal property tax rate is 7.4 mills. Lower Alsace charges 4 mills. That’s a difference of $340 for a $100,000 property.

The same scenario plays out across the county.

In the Exeter School District, St. Lawrence property owners pay a 3.84 mill rate while those who own property in Exeter Township pay 1.3 mills.

In the Kutztown School District, Maxatawny Township has the highest rate at 2.86 mills, while Albany and Greenwich townships boast 0.6-mill rates.

A mill is one dollar for each $1,000 of assessed property value, meaning a house assessed at $50,000 with a property tax of 1 mill would generate $50 in taxes.

Township and borough officials around the county will decide tax rates for 2008 in the coming weeks. Budgets must be approved by the end of December. Municipal and county tax bills are sent out in March.

Millage rates are determined in part by how much local governments spend, and in part by the total value of property in a community. Commercial and industrial development tends to keep millage rates down.

Boroughs — typically residential areas with little room for growth and a high demand for municipal services — often have higher tax rates than nearby townships.

Mount Penn is joined on the high end of the spectrum by Topton (5 mills), Hamburg (5.5 mills), Leesport (5.72 mills) and West Reading (5.6 mills) rate.

New Morgan’s rate of 25.5 mills is by far the highest, but all property taxes are paid by the businesses that operate there. The five families who live in New Morgan rent their homes. Most of the borough’s $2.2 million budget pays for a sewage treatment plant.

Reading is second, with a rate of 10.9 mills.

Earl Township is the only Berks municipality without a municipal tax. The township government is funded by host fees from the Rolling Hills Landfill.

Other municipalities with low rates include Ruscombmanor Township at 0.09 mills; Jefferson Township at 0.18 mills; North Heidelberg Township at 0.2 mills; Perry Township at 0.25 mills; and Rockland and Windsor townships, both at 0.3 mills.

Setting aside the special cases of New Morgan and Earl Township, the school district with the biggest difference between municipal property taxes is Schuylkill Valley.

The tax rate is 5.72 mills in Leesport and 0.36 mills in nearby Centre Township — a difference of 5.36 mills, or $536 in taxes for a $100,000 property.

Sandra L. Weiser, Leesport’s borough manager, said residents don’t usually complain about the borough’s property taxes. Unlike surrounding municipalities with lower rates, Leesport provides water and sewer service, trash pickup, streetlights, fire hydrants, sidewalks and a swimming pool.

Weiser also said the majority of the borough is residential, meaning it doesn’t get much tax money from commercial or industrial properties.

Officials in both the Schuylkill Valley and Hamburg school districts said they haven’t had any complaints from taxpayers about the differing rates.

Stuart C. Whiteleather, Hamburg School District’s business manager, said the district typically doesn’t consider municipal tax rates while preparing its budget.

The response was much the same from Barry P. Haag, Schuylkill Valley’s business manager.

"We’ve had very little in the way of complaints or feedback about that," he said. "To be honest, I don’t think a lot of people know how much taxes differ. I mean, I don’t know how many people open up their tax bill and say ‘Geez, they’re not paying this much in Centre Township.’ "

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