Easton senior citizens will have the opportunity to apply for a property tax rebate after an approval by Easton City Council.

City council approved an ordinance Jan. 2 establishing a property tax rebate program for senior citizens, funded by projected fuel savings from the city’s police department transition to hybrid patrol vehicles. The ordinance was introduced in 2024, but was tabled at that time.

The proposal narrowly passed in a 4-3 vote, with some council members expressing concern that it could create financial uncertainty. Council members Frank Pintabone, Crystal Rose and Ken Brown were the three votes against it.

Introduced by former councilman Roger Ruggles who served in his last meeting on Friday, the ordinance allows city residents 65 and older who own and live in their homes to apply annually for a rebate on their city property taxes.

Each year, the city will calculate fuel savings from hybrid police vehicles, divide that total among all qualified applicants and apply the rebate directly to property tax bills.

According to the ordinance, the police department has already begun converting its patrol fleet to hybrid vehicles and added two hybrid cars for the 2025 calendar year. The measure states that fuel cost savings are estimated at approximately $3,200 per car per year, based on reduced fuel consumption compared to traditional gas-powered patrol cars.

The department plans to add four additional hybrid patrol vehicles each year until the entire patrol fleet is converted, the ordinance outlines.

At full implementation, the city estimates annual fuel savings could reach approximately $200,000, while also reducing carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 1 million pounds per year.

Easton Finance Director Mark Lysynecky told council the savings estimates are based on limited data, since the city’s first hybrid patrol cars were only placed into service around July. He said early analysis comparing hybrid vehicles to traditional gas-powered patrol cars suggests annualized fuel savings of about $734 per vehicle, or roughly $1,400 total for the two hybrids currently in use, which is based on half-year estimates.

Lysynecky also cautioned that hybrid patrol vehicles cost about $3,000 more per car upfront than gas-powered vehicles, meaning the city does not realize immediate net savings. He said longer-term savings would depend on fleet expansion, fuel prices and maintenance costs as more hybrids are added in future years.

Pintabone cited those uncertainties as a key reason for his opposition. He said the city is projecting a budget gap in the next five years as high as $2.5 million, which means property taxes could increase.

“I don’t know if we know how many [seniors] would apply for this grant. Maybe they get a check back for $25 or $40, but it doesn’t help them if we turn around and increase their property tax at the end of the year,” he said.

He said while the concept is worthwhile, he believes it is too early to distribute small rebates before the city has a clearer picture of savings and budget pressures.

Rose and Brown expressed similar concerns, questioning whether fuel savings should instead be used to stabilize the city’s overall budget. Brown said he would like to revisit the idea in the future once the police fleet has transitioned further and more reliable data is available.

Ruggles argued that it’s unfair to reject the ordinance after the city approved a budget with revenue sources “coming out of the citizens’ pockets,” which includes parking meter rate increases.

“The argument of, ‘it’s not much that the citizens are getting, but we’re going to have a $2.5 million deficit, and this amount is really going to be beneficial for that deficit,’ just doesn’t make sense,” Ruggles said. “This amount of money is something that we would have never had. Had I not gone out and researched those vehicles, we would still be buying gasoline vehicles.”

Applications for the rebate will be available on Sept. 1 each year and must be submitted to the City of Easton Department of Finance by Oct. 31.