Luzerne County’s administration is proposing a 1.99% real estate tax increase in 2027, largely due to negotiated wage commitments, court needs, and infrastructure.
As an example, that increase would equate to $12.80 more annually on a property assessed at $100,000.
The council is free to make adjustments before the final budget adoption scheduled for Dec. 8.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo’s budget message released for Tuesday’s County Council meeting said a management team reviewed every line of the proposal, and she “will be direct about why” the increase is proposed.
“Luzerne County has obligations it cannot defer,” her budget message said, citing binding collective bargaining agreements, judicial branch courtroom needs and adjudication costs, and roads and bridges that require repair and replacement “now, not years from now.”
“This budget meets those obligations honestly instead of pushing them onto a future council and future taxpayers,” Crocamo wrote.
Some highlights in Crocamo’s message:
• Wages for union workers are rising by $1.45 million, or 3.8%. The administration’s proposal includes merit increases of up to 3% for nonunion workers — a $393,651 cost that would be offset by savings from position restructuring.
•The budget includes a $2.65 million “vacancy factor,” $400,000 more than this year. That means the county is assuming it will save that much in wages from positions that sit unfilled, which leaves less of a financial cushion if those jobs are filled.
“In practical terms, our employees will continue to cover more work while positions sit open. These wage increases recognize that reality,” Crocamo wrote, describing staff as the “foundation of county government.”
• The general fund operating budget is $180.8 million — an increase of nearly $10.4 million, or 6.1%.
Property tax receipts are projected to increase $4.6 million as a result of more construction, expiring real estate tax breaks and the proposed tax increase. The county also anticipates additional funds from grants and “strategic cash management” interest earnings.
• County debt service payments will total $25.5 million in 2027. The county is scheduled to repay all past debt in 2030.
• Non-personnel costs are anticipated to increase $6.5 million next year, in part because of rising expenses for road repairs and engineering, anticipated legal settlements, capital death penalty cases, and prisoner health care.
• Capital asset costs are up $1.85 million due to the replacement of aging printers and copiers, acoustic and audio system improvements in two courtrooms and $1.5 million for a building purchase.
According to the administration, the referenced building is the American Red Cross Blood and Platelet Donation Center property on New Commerce Boulevard in Hanover Township, which the county agreed to purchase in June to house the county’s Emergency Management Agency.
County taxes are currently 6.4494 mills, which equates to a $644.94 tax bill on a $100,000 property. A mill is $1 tax on every $1,000 in assessed value of real estate.
The change would increase the total millage to 6.57743, bringing the total bill on a $100,000 property to $657.74.
The proposed budget is posted with Tuesday’s council agenda at luzernecounty.org.
The council will hold its first budget work session at 5 p.m., Oct. 20, in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.