100 WVIA Way
Pittston, PA 18640

Phone: 570-826-6144
Fax: 570-655-1180

Copyright © 2025 WVIA, all rights reserved. WVIA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Williamsport City Council OKs 2% property tax hike for 2025

Trade and Transit Centre II, one of the Williamsport's public transportation buildings and home to city council meetings.
Chase Bottorf
/
WVIA News
Trade and Transit Centre II, one of the Williamsport's public transportation buildings and home to city council meetings.

Property taxes will rise 2% in the city of Williamsport next year after a divided City Council passed its 2025 budget last week.

Council on Thursday voted 6-1 in favor of the final budget and 5-2 in favor of the increase, which will mark a second consecutive annual tax hike.

Some wanted no increase, while others suggested higher or lower amounts than what was finally passed.

Councilman Vincent Pulizzi was among those who voted in favor of the budget and the tax increase, but he also expressed discontent.

“I voted for some of those increases in the past, knowing that they seem necessary to the time,” Pulizzi said “But I just I find it difficult that we continue ... placing that burden on our taxpayers, when we should be looking more internally at ourselves and at the agreements that we have within and throughout the city.”

How they voted

Council President Adam Yoder and members Eric Beiter, Liz Miele, Jon Mackey, Randy Allison and Pulizzi voted yes on the budget.

Councilwoman Bonnie Katz voted no.

Yoder, Allison, Mackey, Pulizzi and Miele voted yes on the tax hike, while Beiter and Katz voted no.

What it means

The increase partially covers a $3 million operating deficit.

The $36.7 million budget was reduced by $351,725 from the preliminary budget initially before council, and city finance director Jamie Livermore said each department tightened its spending for next year.

A taxpayer who owns a $100,000 home will pay $1,705 in tax under the new budget, or $33 more than this year.

The millage rate will increase from 16.72 to 17.05, or 0.33 mills — and that comes on top of a 0.5 mill increase this year.

A mill represents $1 in tax levied on each $1,000 of assessed property value.

Alternative proposals

Allison unsuccessfully motioned for a smaller, quarter-of-a-mill increase.

“That's over $500,000. I think that that would be a cushion to protect us somewhat through the year," Allison said, though he acknowledged it would not solve ongoing deficits.

“We have to really do a lot of digging, do a lot of homework and come up with the solutions sooner rather than later,” Allison said.

Pulizzi supported Allison’s motion but continued his stance against an increase altogether. Pullizzi, the owner of Labels By Pulizzi, an industrial and commercial printing shop for promotional items, clothing and logos, said the tax hike could hurt.

“If I consistently spend more money than I make year after year after year, I go broke and I'm out of business. I can't vote for somebody else to continue to make up for the difference because I'm making bad decisions, including myself in bad agreements or whatever it may be, I can't do it,” he said.

Miele questioned if Pullizi would need to raise prices with higher taxes.

“Within reason, right up until you start losing customers because you're too expensive,” he replied.

Miele said there has to be a “sweet spot” for an increase. She and Mackey wanted an even higher tax, with a-half-a-mill increase.

“If I continue to place and pass that cost on to my customers to make it up, well they're going to take good business elsewhere. I think that that's what's happening here, is that residents and business owners within the city are getting fed up with having to consistently pay for higher, higher taxes where they're leaving,” Pulizzi said.

“Thankfully, we've seen some reinvestment in the city by way of Maynard Street, and a couple other things we are fully grateful for, but we have to approach things differently.”

Mackey disagreed with Pulizzi about businesses and government.

“We can't go out of business. I mean, we're not in business. We have to keep providing services and taxing could have an effect on our residents, but drawing that imaginary line in the sand can also have a severe impact on our residents as well. So development, right?” he said.

Allison’s motion for a quarter-mill tax hike was defeated 5-2. He and Pulizzi voted yes. Mackey, Miele, Katz, Beider and Yoder voted no.

Miele then motioned for a-half-a-mill increase. She said taxes should reflect growing annual salaries and the cost of living.

“Our tax revenue is flat and potentially decreasing without us increasing,” she said. “That's also why we support a half-a-mill increase, because I believe that incremental tax increases are easier for everyone to budget for and to deal with. I think ideally, it would have been a quarter November, the last couple of years, and we would be in a better budgetary place now than we are. It hasn't been and we are where we are.”

Miele’s motion also lost 5-2. She and Mackey voted yes. Yoder, Beiter, Katz, Pulizzi and Allison voted no.

Then they approved the third-of-a-mill increase.

Pulizzi said he would not support a tax increase next year.

“I voted for the budget. I voted for the third-of-a-mill tax increase. Just putting it up now going in for next year's budget. I won't support any kind of a tax increase in any way, shape or form,” he said. “Really putting the challenge out there, hoping that we can all come together, find other fiscal needs of revenue, rather than continuing to place it on our taxpayers and put that burden on them.”

Yoder said the council didn’t want any kind of increase.

“None of us do. I believe the mayor does not want to see an increase, to be frank,” he said. “But we're doing it because of what we're anticipating next year, one way or the other. There's a good argument to raise it to five, there's a good argument to reduce it to a quarter. Seems to be the consensus is probably where it's at and that's okay.”

Cash balance, various cuts

The city will have a cash balance of about $1.1 million starting next year. This year started with $3.8 million, according to the 2024 budget.

Council trimmed $25,000 for training firefighters. Fire Chief Sam Aungst said applications weren’t submitted in time for it.

Other cuts include:

  • Mayor's Office - supplies and materials from $3,700 to $1,200;
  • Engineering - advertising from $525 to $0;
  • Streets and Parks - office director training from $4,000 to $2,000; office supplies from $3,500 to $3,000; traffic control facility maintenance from $37,500 to $30,000; Bowman Field maintenance from $50,000 to $45,000; flood control from $25,000 to $23,000; equipment repairs from $15,000 to $13,000; parks department contracted services from $6,500 to $4,500; Ways Garden commission from $2,000 to $1,000; facility maintenance from $5,000 to $3,000; equipment repairs from $25,000 to $20,000; recreation program special events from $23,500 to $20,000; facility maintenance from $10,000 to $8,000; pool program equipment repairs from $10,000 to $8,000; facility maintenance from $6,000 to $4,000;
  • Finance and purchasing - supplies and materials from $7,000 to $5,000;
  • Planning technology - from $1,900 to $1,600;
  • Fire bureau - training from $60,000 to $35,000; travel from $30,000 to $20,000; supplies and materials from $95,000 to $90,000;
  • Police bureau - contracting services from $101,800 to $89,000; firearms from $43,500 to $35,000; uniforms from $92,300 to $87,000; vehicle purchases from $291,000 to $49,000.

“Everybody that worked on this budget this year did a great job and a lot of cooperation,” Allison said. “I feel like we're more of a team at this point and moving in that direction. I think we're going to increase our ability to work together in that way, so I feel really positive about that.”

Chase Bottorf is a graduate of Lock Haven University and holds a bachelor's degree in English with a concentration in writing. Having previously been a reporter for the Lock Haven news publication, The Express, he is aware of the unique issues in the Lycoming County region, and has ties to the local communities.

The Lycoming County reporter position is funded by the Williamsport Lycoming Competitive Grant Program at the First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania.

You can email Chase at chasebottorf@wvia.org
Related Stories