Jeannette passes budget, holds tax line

Jeannette Council passed the city’s 2024 budget on Tuesday by a 4-1 vote.

The budget does not call for a property tax increase, keeping the millage rate at 35.62 mills.

Councilwoman Michelle Langdon cast the dissenting vote because she said she felt the earned-income tax should have been lowered. One percent of earned-income taxes are used for general purposes and an additional .4% is put toward pension plans for retirees.

City manager Ethan Keedy said Jeannette is awaiting some clarification from the state auditor general’s office regarding outstanding liabilities with the city’s pension funds before taking a look at the tax. The pension funds are in good shape and the city is hopeful that part of the tax could be reduced in future years, but more research is needed, he said.

The earned-income tax was raised in the mid-2010s as the city grappled with underfunded pensions. It was decreased to the current rate — 1.4% — in 2020. That came after years of fluctuations, to as high as 2% in 2015, as the city caught up on its overdue obligations for the funds.

The $6.15 million 2024 budget includes expected increases in revenue related to employment and businesses and an $33,000 annual payment to the city’s capital reserve for the purchase of a new garbage truck.

Jeannette expects to get about $1.92 million in property taxes in 2024, according to the spending plan. The police department budget is $2.3 million, the sanitation department expects to spend about $1 million, including the garbage truck payment, and the fire department budget stands at $639,000.