What Can 
You Still Get 
For A Buck? 
Mart And Wal-mart May Have Muscled Woolworth's Off Main Street Here. But As Of 
Yet, It's Not A Clean Win.

5a 
Children's Agency Sets $55,000 Goal

By LISA SCHEID; Times Leader Hazleton Bureau Chief
 Saturday, January 15, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A QUICK WORDS: LOKUTA WILL SETTLE
MILLAGE DISPUTE 





HAZLETON -- Mayor John Quigley and the Hazleton Area Taxpayer Association
will square off about the 1994 budget next week in Luzerne County Court. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On Jan. 18, Judge Anne Lokuta will hear the taxpayer group's objections to
the city's request to retain 5 mills of its 36.9 mill real estate tax. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The hearing was postponed Tuesday after the taxpayer group raised
objections to what has become a mere formality. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Under state law, the city can levy only 25 mills to fund general
government. So each year since 1977 the city has asked -- and received --
permission to raise taxes past the limit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In December, City Council adopted a $7.2 million budget for 1994 that
requires property owners to pay 36.9 mills. A mill is a $1 tax per $1,000 in
assessed property value. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Approximately 7 mills of the budget will go toward paying off loans and
recreational uses that are allowed under state law. This leaves about 5 mills
above the state-targeted 25-mill level. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The 1994 budget called for a 1.4 mill tax break from the 1993 levy. For a
homeowner with property valued at $4,000, that was a $5.60 savings. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To get the 5 mills over the state limit, the city must demonstrate a need
for the money. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Quigley said without the money, the city will have to chop $200,000 from an
already tight budget. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To save $200,000, Quigley contends he would have to lay off four to five
police officers, or shut down the Heights and 14th Ward fire stations, or
eliminate the department of administration, or lay off five street-department
workers during the busy snow season. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But the taxpayer group is not satisfied with Quigley's budget. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Taxpayer association member Dee Deakos listed six objections to the mayor's
tax request. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The budget is not balanced, Deakos contended. In the budget adopted in
December, revenues were $8,924 higher than expenses. Quigley called the
problem "akin to a typographical error." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Deakos said the city budgeted too much money as "miscellaneous revenues."
She worried the $495,000 in miscellaneous revenues was just a way to balance
the budget on paper. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Deakos contends that while the budget shows the value of property decreased
in 1993, in reality the assessed value of property increased. She cited a
press release from the county assessor's office noting that values had
increased by $100,000. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Quigley said the assessor's announcement came before $300,000 in abatements
and exonerations were granted. He said the assessed value on which the budget
was calculated came from the county assessor's office. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Deakos said the mayor should have included on the tax rolls the Grand
Central Plaza, a shopping center planned for construction in 1994. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Quigley said the county prepares a list at the end of the year and
wouldn't list the property for taxes until 1995. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Deakos said the city's garbage fee listed in the budget is unrealistic.
Tipping fees have decreased. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 While the fees may have gone down, Quigley maintained the tons of garbage
shipped to a landfill are increasing. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Deakos also contended sewer fees were being transferred from a special
account to the general fund. The general fund pays for maintenance of
vehicles, city administration and the police department, among other things. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Quigley said the transfers are done to pay public-works personnel to work
on sewers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We're doing it exactly as the auditors told us to do it," Quigley said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Deakos said the pay to public-works employees should be kept in the
account on a separate line item instead of being buried in the general fund. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 State law gives the city until Jan. 31 to reopen the budget. Deakos
contended the tax hike the judge is being asked to consider is not final until
the end of January. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Maybe the city will reopen the budget and won't need all the mills,"
Deakos said. "But they will already have it approved." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Quigley scoffed at Deakos' logic. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Once a budget is final. It is final," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Quigley said the objections are wasting city tax dollars. The solicitor is
being paid to fight the objections when there are other more important
lawsuits and legal matters for him to review. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "None of these objections are grounds enough for the court to deny the
petition," Quigley said. "The fact of the matter is that we have a city to
run." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He said he wanted to be called to the witness stand to argue against the
objections. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I can't wait to get to court on Tuesday," Quigley said.

Lokuta Will Settle Millage Dispute Between Quigley, Taxpayers 
Taxpayers Don't Want 5 
Mills Of Their Property Taxes 
Retained To Cover Expenses, 
But The Mayor Says The 
Procedure Is Formality

Lokuta Will Settle Millage Dispute Between Quigley, Taxpayers Taxpayers Don't Want 5 Mills Of Their Property Taxes Retained To Cover Expenses, But The Mayor Says The Procedure Is Formality