Upper Dublin Township to vote on real estate tax hike

UPPER DUBLIN Township commissioners are expected to vote Tuesday on the 2014 budget, which would raise the township real estate tax rate by 2 percent.

That increase would cost the typical homeowner about $21 more per year in taxes, said Jonathan Bleemer, assistant township manager and finance director.

"We tried to keep the budget increase to a minimum," he said.

The initial proposal was for a 3 percent hike, but the amount was reduced over two budget hearings by finding projects to trim, he said.

The tax increase is needed, Bleemer said, to cover higher health-care expenses for all township employees, and to pay for negotiated raises for unionized police, sanitation, and public works employees.

Projects financed in the 2014 budget include the design and construction of a park in East Oreland, and installation of a traffic signal at Bell Lane and Limekiln Pike, site of a fatal accident in February.

- Carolyn Davis