Harmar's proposed $2.7M budget includes half-mill tax cut

The Harmar Supervisors will hold a special meeting Wednesday to consider adopting a $2.7 million budget for next year that would cut the township’s property tax rate by nearly a half-mill and reduce property owners’ tax bills by 13%.

The township’s preliminary budget, passed unanimously in November, called for the 2021 property tax rate to remain at 3.45 mills.

Despite approving the preliminary plan, Supervisor Bob Exler pushed for a Homestead Act exemption that would have reduced the assessed value for calculating property taxes on homeowners’ primary residences. The move, he said, would have saved the average Harmar homeowner $17 annually.

On Dec. 17, the preliminary budget failed to pass when the supervisors’ vote was a 2-2 deadlock. Exler, one of the supervisors who voted against it, said he did so because he was holding out for the Homestead Act cut. Supervisor Lee Biermeyer also opposed the budget, while Supervisors Chairman Bob Seibert and Supervisor Harry Lenhart voted for it. The board’s fifth seat was vacant because Supervisor Jim Devlin recently resigned.

Seibert said he intends to propose a tax cut for all property owners when the board meets at 1 p.m. Wednesday. The proposal would reduce the tax rate to 3 mills. At that rate, the owner of a property assessed at $100,000 would owe $300 in real estate taxes, or $45 less than this year.

“A millage reduction will benefit every home and business in our township,” Seibert said. “Little bars and small businesses need a break now. In good times, residents paid taxes to support our township. In bad times, we need to give everyone relief.”

He called Exler’s proposed Homestead Act cut “meaningless” because of its small savings for taxpayers and because not all property owners would benefit.

Exler’s proposal would have cost the township about $15,000 in revenue in 2021, while the 0.45-mill tax cut would decrease the township’s revenue by about $167,600, Seibert said.

The township is projecting to have a $1.7 million budget surplus at the end of 2021.

Exler was thrilled to hear about Seibert’s proposal when contacted Tuesday and said he will support it.

“We forced the issue, and we’re getting a tax break that is a heck of lot more than what we asked for,” Exler said. “It’s like going in to buy a Ford and coming out with a Lincoln.”

The public can listen in on the supervisors’ meeting at 1 p.m. Details are available by calling the township at 724-274-4550 or visiting the township website.