Franklin's taxes to decrease

FRANKLIN-Borough residents may not mind quite as much as usual when their tax bills arrive this summer. Because for the first time in at least a decade, the overall town tax rate is projected to drop by nearly one point from last year. Six weeks ago, the borough council had learned that because of a large increase in ratable properties, the overall tax rate would increase by only about one point, or about an extra $15 on a home assessed at $100,000. That was before the town learned what it would get in state aid. When that was figured in, officials found that instead of a $15 increase, the owner of that $100,000 home will see a decrease of $90 in municipal taxes. A small increase in school taxes will take away five dollars of that, officials said, leaving residents with a net gain of $86. "I think it's a great accomplishment this (town) has had," said Councilman Steve Oroho, who credited a "disciplined path" for the unexpected tax decrease. "You're starting to see some of the benefits for the hard work you've done." "We did this without cutting any services, too," Councilman Jack Stoll added. Grant Rome, the borough's chief financial officer, had projected a $10-million budget based on "estimated figures prior to state aid." Since then, the state promised an extra $50,000 to the borough for homeland security, enabling the town to reduce the 2005 budget to $9,745,365.47. That reduction includes projected rate decreases from both local and regional school taxes as well, Rome's updated figures show. Last summer, an unanticipated $50,000 boost from the state for homeland security held the increase in taxes down. This year, the, along with more than $12 million in new ratables, will enable taxpayers to save almost nine cents per $100 of assessed value, Rome said. "In essence, now your taxes are going to be about $4,005 if your home is assessed at $100,000," said Rome, who added that it was "phenomenal" that the local school budget is expected to increase only $35,000 from last year. "Last year, a $100,000 home would have had a tax bill of $4,091," Rome added. Rome has served the borough for eight years, and this is the first time he's seen taxes go down.