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No tax increases in Pittston budget

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DALLAS &#8212; Borough residents will not see a tax increase in 2017.Th borough council unanimously approved the first reading of the $2.4 million preliminary budget Wednesday night.&#8220;There are no major changes from last year&#8217;s budget,&#8221; borough Manager Tracey Carr said.The budget will keep the mill rate at 1.31 and the earned income tax at 1 percent. A mill is $1 for every $1,000 in assessed value.Health care costs did see an increase of 9.8 percent, Carr said. Police pension contributions will remain at 2 percent. Non-uniform employee pension contributions are at 1 percent, same as last year, she said.The budget does reflect a $1.3 million Local Shared Account grant the borough received for a downtown sidewalk and streetscaping project.Carr said the project should start in the summer. The project will affect Main Street and was on hold due to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation&#8217;s roundabout project, she said.Council members also plan to replace a 1997 oversized pickup truck used to plow smaller local roads, Carr said. Council budgeted $40,000 to purchase a truck, plow and salt spreader.The budget is available in the borough building for public viewing during regular business hours.In other news, the borough&#8217;s leaf pick-up will continue through the end of November, weather permitting, Carr said.Crews will make one trip through the entire borough collecting leafs with a leaf vacuum truck. The following areas have already been serviced: Foster, Lincoln, Orchard, Mill, Franklin, Ridge, Rice and Spring streets, Woodlawn, Wellington, Lehman and Norton avenues, and Still Road.Residents in those areas can bag their leafs and place the bag curbside for crews to pick up, Carr said.The proposed budget will receive a final vote by the council at the regularly monthly meeting slated for 7 p.m. on Dec. 21 in the municipal building.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Eileen Godinegodin@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.</shirttailMeta></div>

Dallas Borough holds line on taxes