Newtown Township 2021 Budget Includes Tax Hike

NEWTOWN, PA — In a split vote Tuesday, the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors approved a 2021 budget that nearly doubles the property tax rate.

The $13.8 million spending plan increases the township's millage rate from 4.5 mills to 8.49 mills, an 89 percent jump.

Supervisor David Oxley proposed several last-minute expense cuts to the budget — eliminating a new Director of Zoning & Code Enforcement position that was slated for next year, nixing a $20,000 study for a new police building, reducing new police vehicles from three to two and reducing the road program by $50,000 — that were ultimately approved as part of the spending plan.

Supervisors Oxley, John Mack and Dennis Fisher voted in favor of the budget. Supervisors Philip Calabro and Kyle Davis voted against the measure, with Calabro noting that Oxley's revisions did not impact the tax rate increase. Davis said he felt the cuts didn't go far enough and would have preferred a hiring freeze next year.

"Right now, hiring anybody, I don't like it," Davis said.

Supervisor Dennis Fisher expressed satisfaction with the outcome, noting that the initial budget called for an increase of 8 mills.

"We've come a long way from when this was first presented in October," Fisher said. "We knew that we needed to make some cuts, and those cuts helped us get that ratio to a place I'm comfortable with."

The full budget is available for viewing here.