Phoenxville Tax Hike Drops from 13.8% to 1.5%

If you ever wanted to know why its important to have rising property values, look no further than last night in Phoenixville.

That's when the 2020 budget was adopted and before last night, it looked like it was going to come with a whopper of a tax hike.

When the meeting began, the millage borough council authorized advertising last month was 6.99, which would have meant a 13.8 percent hike in property taxes.

That wasn't sitting too well with some folks, who came to the meeting to voice their displeasure.

Irene Helley called it "obscene. You're going to have to get out your pencils and erasers. You cannot pass this thing as it is. You cannot pass it and you know it."

As it turns out they did, or at least Borough Manager E. Jean Krack did.

After public comment was completed, and a closed-door executive session to discuss collective bargaining and real estate, Krack informed council and the public that there had been a change since the millage had been advertised -- an $8 million change.

He said the final figures on Phoenixvilles total assessed property value were delivered by Chester County in mid-November and it was an $8 million increase.

(As opposed to Pottstown, where we're happy if the decrease is not too extreme.)

As a result, and premiums on health, liability and workers compensation insurance all coming in
lower than first estimated, the proposed tax increase dropped significantly.

Instead of a 13.8 percent tax hike, Phoenixville property owners will pay a paltry 1.47 percent hike. The millage will increase from the current 6.14 mills to 6.23 mills.

There is one significant increase, however.

From left: Phoenixville Borough Manager Jean Krack; Dan Spracklin,
CEO for SoMax Bioenergy; Phoenixville Mayor Peter Urscheler;
Chester County Commissioners Michelle Kichline, Kathi Cozzone
Terence Farrell at the announcement of the county grant in October.

The sewer fee will jump by 16 percent in 2020, from $5.60 to $6.50 per 1,000 gallons. 

The increase will help cover the cost of the $4 million project to completely change the way wastewater is treated, using a "heat and pressure" method to transform human and food waste into a form of clean coal, Krack said.

A $402,000 grant from Chester County is helping to fund the project.

When complete, it will be the first sewer plant in the nation to treat sewage in this fashion. It is too soon to say if the borough can use or sell the product as fuel, said Krack.

Photo by Evan Brandt

Outgoing Phoenixville Borough Council President James
Kovaleski with his big check for "his two cents."

The budget adopted, it was also an evening for goodbyes.

Council President James Kovaleski and Councilwoman Catherine Doherty are both leaving council, neither having run for another term.

Kovaleski, however, did run successfully to become a district judge.

Both thanked Krack for his help over the years and the other council members had a kind of parting shot for Kovaleski, who was known, when giving his opinion, to offer "my two cents."

Seeing as he had given it so often, said Councilman Jonathan Ewald, it only seemed appropriate that he should get it back. 

And he did, in the form a giant check, usually reserved for big grants, for exactly two cents.

And I would be remiss if I did not also include this video of the monthly report by Mayor Peter Urscheler:

And with that, here is a link to the Tweets from the meeting since Twitter still won't create an embed code for its Twitter moments ....