During their monthly business meeting on Monday, the Gettysburg Borough Council unanimously approved advertising a 2025 budget that includes a 9% real estate tax hike. The motion came after numerous budget workshops that attracted few members of the public.
“We have known this was coming for a couple of years,” Borough Council President Matthew Moon said prior to the vote.
The borough’s occupation and fire taxes will remain stagnant at 3 and 0.5 mills, respectively.
The borough also expects to increase the price of some parking spaces from $1 to $1.50 per hour. Borough Manager Charles Gable said previously he estimates the parking rate increases will generate about $150,000 in revenue.
The borough will vote on the budget’s final adoption during their Dec. 9 meeting. The budget will be available for review on the borough’s website, www.gettysburgpa.gov, and borough office at 59 East High Street from Nov. 20 – Dec. 9.
Other business
During the 45-minute meeting, the council breezed through routine business matters, including:
- Approval of a liquor license transfer from 985 Baltimore Pike, Cumberland Township to the Conoco Gas Station, 517 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg.
- Appointment of Joe Edgar to the Historical Architectural Review Board. Edgar is a licensed architect. He will replace Joan Hodges, who resigned
- Approval of a flat rate of $18 for the Race Horse Alley Parking Garage during the Gettysburg Christmas Festival on Dec. 7. Main Street Gettysburg Executive Director Jill Sellers reported the festival is expected to attract many tourists to Gettysburg. A complete schedule of events can be found at www.agettysburgchristmasfestival.com.
Additionally, Historic and Environmental Preservation Coordinator Debra English reported that 150 property owners received notices about the paint on their buildings peeling. English said the response has been mostly positive and many have quickly remedied the situation.
Alex J. Hayes has spent almost two decades in the Adams County news business. He is passionate about sharing stories focused on the people in our communities and following local governments in an age when few journalists report on their meetings. Alex is also a freelance writer for several other publications in South Central Pennsylvania. Alex encourages readers to contact him at ahayes83@gmail.com.
“During their monthly business meeting on Monday, the Gettysburg Borough Council unanimously approved advertising a 2025 budget that includes a 9% real estate tax hike. The motion came after numerous budget workshops that attracted few members of the public.” That statement is ridiculous. Want to save some money? Try getting rid of the myriad of managers, and merge functions that a single manager can effectively oversee. The taxpayers desperately need business people on the council that know how to effectively operate a business.
So you mean get rid of the politicians and vote in business people. Sounds familiar! 🙂