Luzerne County officials will propose an approximately 2% property tax increase when they unveil the county’s 2026 budget Tuesday, the county manager said Thursday.
In an email, county manager Romilda Crocamo called the increase “minimal” and blamed it primarily on “three separate, but necessary” cost increases.
The additional taxes will go toward paying for a new state-approved county common pleas court judge, including staff and courtrooms, road and bridge upgrades and higher health care costs, especially at the county prison, Crocamo said.
The county did not release the precise new millage rate, but said the increase is 1.9%.
The current rate is 6.3541 mills, the rate the last three years.
In dollars, that means ...
The county’s median assessed home value is $95,000, according to the news release. At the current tax rate, that homeowner pays $603.64 in county taxes alone, or about $50.30 a month.
A mill is a $1 tax on every $1,000 of assessed value.
With a 1.9% increase, the bill would rise to $614.80, or about $51.23 a month. Based on that, the increase amounts to $11.16, or about 93 cents a month.
The county news release said the increase is less than $12 a year and about 96 cents a month.
Why the hike?
County budget hearings will show the county court’s caseload increased significantly during the last year; three county-owned bridges are on track for replacement and hundreds of others need maintenance; and healthcare costs keep rising.
“The proposed budget is a fiscally responsible approach with this modest increase, while also considering the needs of county taxpayers, who deal with rising costs in their own daily lives,” Crocamo said. “When crafting this budget, county officials took a comprehensive view of the county’s critical needs and services for the next fiscal year and ensured that growth is controlled and responsible and not a heavy burden to taxpayers.”
The county’s last tax increase was a 3% hike in 2023.
