SUNBURY - Shamokin's property tax levy will remain 20 percent higher than the maximum allowed under state law.
For the fourth year running, the city was granted permission by a Northumberland County judge to levy real estate taxes five mills above the 25 mill maximum allowed under Third Class City Code.
Shamokin's petition to the court said the move would generate an additional $125,000, but city Clerk Steve Bartos put that figure at $175,000 during a hearing Wednesday at the county courthouse.
The money is essential to the makeup of the 2012 budget, Bartos said, adding that Shamokin would face a budget deficit without it - a deficit that couldn't be satisfied by existing sources of revenue.
City council will meet at 6:30 p.m. tonight to vote on the final version of the proposed $2.5 million spending plan.
Robert B. Sacavage, president judge, approved the city's petition, calling the evidence presented "competent and credible."
In making his ruling, Sacavage quoted case law that says the city must only show that "due cause" exists to maintain the additional millage.
"(Existing statute) does not invite the court to examine the budget itself and review the wisdom of the legislative decision underlying its adoption," Sacavage read from the 1986 opinion of a court appeal filed by the Central Pennsylvania Retiree's Association in regard to a similar request approved for Altoona. That appeal was denied, upholding Altoona's request for an extra 1.8 mills of real estate tax.
"(The city) is limited solely to the issue of whether the additional millage is necessary given the requirements of the approved budget," the ruling continues. "The city meets its burden of proof when it can show by competent credible evidence that its anticipated revenues will be insufficient to meet the monetary obligations imposed by its approved budget."
Not a single Shamokin property owner filed paperwork with the court to voice opposition to the matter nor did any attend Wednesday's hearing.
First approved in 2009
The tax exception was first approved for 2009 by the late Senior Judge Samuel C. Ranck and in each of the past two years by Sacavage. It was recommended in a report by the Pennsylvania Economy League (PEL) after it found the city's shrinking tax base couldn't support its expenses.
There is no statute as to how often the city can file a petition for the exception, according to H. Robert Mattis, Shamokin's solicitor.
Outside of any direct action by city council, Mattis said the court order could be averted if a property reassessment were performed in Northumberland County - thereby adjusting property value to present day value - or if the Legislature were to pass a law increasing the maximum real estate millage allowed under third class code.
The last reassessment performed in the county was in 1972.
Mayor George Rozinskie Jr. attended Wednesday's hearing. He said the city had no other choice but to seek a judge's approval to maintain the real estate millage.
Bartos said 2012 will be about reviewing the city's needs and services. He previously estimated that he helped find $250,000 in new savings and revenue combined, including in insurance costs and utilities expenditures, since he was hired last spring.
When the city's audit is released in July, he said it should reveal whether or not they've been making the right choices toward improving Shamokin's fiscal viability.