Doylestown Borough Passes 2021 Budget

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that council unanimously approved the budget.

DOYLESTOWN, PA — The average homeowner in Doylestown Borough can expect to pay about $55 more in property taxes to the borough under a 2021 budget that was passed by council Tuesday night.

Borough council voted 4-1 to approve a $10.4 million spending plan that includes a 1.851 mill property tax hike, which amounts to a roughly $55 increase per year in taxes for the average homeowner. Borough water rates will remain the same. Council member Joseph Flood voted against the budget.

The budget also increases parking fines from $10 to $20 and parking meter fees from $1 an hour to $1.50 an hour, the first such increase in more than a decade, according to Borough Manager John Davis. That increase is expected to produce about $380,000 in additional income next year.

The borough lost more than $500,000 in revenue in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Davis said, which was mostly offset by cutting expenditures. Revenues from earned income tax, local services tax and real estate transfer tax are expected to decrease by about $80,000 in 2021.

Police services, which represent the borough's largest expense, will continue to be provided by the Central Bucks Regional Police Department, which serves Doylestown, New Britain Borough and Chalfont Borough. This year's police department budget increased by 3.18 percent, or $191,799, from the 2020 budget.

Roads scheduled for paving or reconstruction in 2021 include East Ashland Street (Church to Green), West Ashland Street (Main to Clinton), East Oakland Avenue (Pine to State) and Pine Street (Oakland to Ashland).

Like what you're reading? Sign up to get daily Patch emails and stay in the know on local news: https://patch.com/subscribe