{"id":63424,"date":"2025-12-17T16:28:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T16:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/63424\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T16:28:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T16:28:17","slug":"hellertown-approves-tax-increase-budget-at-final-2025-meeting-saucon-source","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/63424\/","title":{"rendered":"Hellertown Approves Tax Increase, Budget at Final 2025 Meeting \u2013 Saucon Source"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hellertown Borough Council approved a 1.5-mill tax increase for 2026 during its final meeting of the year Monday night, with the additional revenue designated primarily for fire services and rising personnel costs.<\/p>\n

Council voted 4-1 to adopt the 2026 budget, which includes a half-mill increase for the general fund and a one-mill increase for fire appropriations, bringing the total tax rate to 23 mills. Councilman Andrew Hughes cast the lone dissenting vote in his final meeting before leaving council at the end of his term.<\/p>\n

The general fund increase of .5 mills represents approximately $64,000 in additional revenue and will support increased labor costs, healthcare expenses and personnel adjustments to bring salaries to market rates.\u00a0The fire fund increase of one mill addresses critical needs at Dewey Fire Company.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncil\u2019s first priority is to ensure there\u2019s fire services for the community,\u201d Hughes said during the discussion, acknowledging his internal conflict over the budget. \u201cThat scratch rate went from 2 percent to 12 percent in four years. That to me is horrifying, and that\u2019s putting people at risk, and that\u2019s not acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Budget Reflects Personnel, Safety Priorities<\/p>\n

The 2026 budge has notable increases in police, public works and parks departments expenditures. The fire fund totals $351,212, with major line items including $85,000 for staffing, $147,766 for capital costs and $30,330 for workers\u2019 compensation.<\/p>\n

Borough Manager Cathy Hartranft outlined the changes from the preliminary budget, which included adjustments to reflect 27 pay periods instead of 26 for certain police positions, increases in healthcare costs and the addition of a summer playground program.<\/p>\n

The sanitation fund budget and liquid fuels budget remained unchanged from preliminary versions. No changes were made to the highway aid fund or preliminary capital budget.<\/p>\n

Hughes Says Farewell to Council<\/p>\n

In his final meeting after seven years of service, Hughes expressed many concerns.<\/p>\n

He offered a final report to reflect on his tenure, which began in 2018 and has continued through both appointment and election to council. He said his agenda since the beginning has focused on two principles: accountability and transparency.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy motivation was simple: to serve the community I live in to the best of my ability,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cMy agenda was straightforward and twofold: accountability\u2013ensuring those in government take responsibility for their actions; (and) transparency\u2013making government operations clear to the true owners of government: our residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hughes sharply criticized the conduct of \u201cthe mayor, council leadership and some members of borough government\u201d during what he called \u201cthe summer of 2023,\u201d though he did not elaborate on specific events. He thanked former councilwoman Terri Fadem<\/a>, councilman Matt Marcincin and particularly former councilwoman Liz Thompson<\/a>\u2013who addressed council during the meeting\u2019s public comment period Monday\u2013for their \u201ccourage and commitment to improving borough government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we found during the summer of 2023, the root cause. Who is really responsible and how the mayor, council leadership, and some members of borough government conducted themselves next two years was absolutely appalling and totally unacceptable,\u201d Hughes said.<\/p>\n

He urged incoming council members to \u201ceducate themselves fully on the facts before drawing conclusions\u201d and to uphold accountability and transparency standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransparency is equally vital. Residents deserve to know what is happening within their government, who is responsible and what corrective steps really need to be taken. When transparency is absent, accountability is lost and harmful behaviors persist into the future,\u201d Hughes added.<\/p>\n

\"HellertownHellertown Borough Hall (FILE PHOTO)<\/p>\n

Mountainview Parking Creates Emergency Access Concerns<\/p>\n

Officials issued an appeal to Mountainview neighborhood residents to park their vehicles to allow fire trucks and plows to pass through the neighborhood\u2019s narrow streets, which are approximately 22 feet wide without snow further narrowing them.<\/p>\n

Police Chief James Baitinger said he has received calls from officers unable to pass through the area. \u201cThat is a fact that will happen if there is an emergency; they have to get there because not getting there is not acceptable,\u201d Baitinger said, noting that fire trucks would push through if necessary.<\/p>\n

The exchange prompted discussion about possible alternate side parking restrictions, though officials expressed reluctance to add signage and enforcement requirements.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Snow Removal Sparks Property Dispute<\/p>\n

Easton Road residents appeared before council to express concerns about snow removal practices at the apartment complex behind their property<\/a>, where they said plow operators recently threw snow over their fence despite being asked not to.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe plow guy pushed it and bent the fence and (I) really haven\u2019t had time or the money to replace it right now,\u201d one resident said, adding that on Sunday, a plow operator allegedly dropped their blade three times toward the fence and workers used a snowblower to throw snow over it as well.<\/p>\n

Zoning and Codes Officer Terri Fadem said she had contacted the owner of the apartments at 330 Linden Avenue and requested video evidence, noting that snow removal onto a neighboring property violates the borough ordinance, and she \u201ccan definitely take action.\u201d<\/p>\n

Borough Engineer Bryan Smith addressed ongoing drainage concerns at the property, explaining that while most rear grading remained unchanged a sump pump discharge had been aimed toward the homeowner\u2019s property but was recently redirected.<\/p>\n

Multiple Contracts, Extensions Approved<\/p>\n

Council approved employment contracts for 2026 for Borough Manager Hartranft, Public Works Director Barry Yonney and Finance Manager Lisa Carl.<\/p>\n

Contracts for Code Enforcement Officer Fadem and Senior Administrative Assistant Tanya Stametz were tabled pending labor attorney review regarding salary classification during a 27-pay-period year in 2026.<\/p>\n

Borough Council President Tom Rieger and councilman Matt Marcincin were absent from the meeting. Council will have its reorganization meeting on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. Meeting agendas are posted online <\/a>and meetings are livestreamed on the borough\u2019s Facebook page<\/a> and on Zoom. Recordings of the meetings may be viewed on the Facebook page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hellertown Borough Council approved a 1.5-mill tax increase for 2026 during its final meeting of the year Monday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[33936,153,155,154,16129,222,25145,204,10495,33937,206,18524,5800],"class_list":{"0":"post-63424","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-andrew-hughes","9":"tag-bethlehem","10":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","11":"tag-bethlehem-news","12":"tag-borough-council","13":"tag-budget","14":"tag-fire-tax","15":"tag-hellertown","16":"tag-meeting","17":"tag-mountainview","18":"tag-police","19":"tag-property-tax","20":"tag-taxes"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}