Editorial: There's a cost — eventually — to not raising taxes

Taxes are a fact of life.

Nobody likes them. Everyone pays them — whether on purchases or income or property. We grumble and grouse, but in the end we know that they are the literal price we pay for being a part of our society.

But does it have to be so high?

Things like inflation and staff shortages that are driving prices up for households also are spiking costs for government entities. It leaves them with two choices.

They can spend down their fund balances, like Westmoreland County is doing with the proposed 2024 budget. Expenses for the county are up by 13% over 2023 and eclipsing revenue. That is being addressed with $25 million in federal American Rescue Plan money and another $10 million from previous surplus.

A surplus or fund balance is the cushion a government agency rests on, like a household savings account. This plan for the 2024 budget will leave Westmoreland with just $2.4 million in the event of need.

Then there is Plum. The Allegheny County municipality has seen an 11.7% increase for the proposed 2024 budget over this year. The largest increases in the $25.1 million spending plan are related to borough building expenses, which are up 31%, and information technology, up 22%.

For Plum, the solution is not a $12 million bank account to reluctantly draw down. Instead, council is considering increasing real estate taxes from a rate of 4.78 mills to 6.63 mills.

Millage is the formula that calculates $1 of tax per $1,000 of assessed value for a property. For your average Plum home with a $116,700 assessment, that means a tax hike of about $216.

Plum relies on real estate taxes for 39% of revenues. Taxes haven’t been raised since 2017.

The proposed spike makes one wonder whether a smaller, regular increase would be better, especially if part or all was directed to saving for this kind of financial rainy day.

It’s an idea that most people identify easily from their personal finances. You can’t fund your retirement with one big increase when you’re 64. It’s the affordable, incremental deposits over time that build up and make it work.

Neither the Westmoreland nor Plum plan works without the most important aspect of budgeting — vigilant fiscal responsibility. Government has many things to provide people, most at a significant cost, but can never lose sight of the fact that it all needs to be paid with real money.

Right now, that means Westmoreland commissioners need to recognize that the 2025 budget will not have the same option to use the savings account instead of raising taxes, so they need to find other solutions or bite the taxation bullet.

And in Plum, residents may have something to say about this sudden increase when public comment is taken at council’s work session at 7 p.m. Monday.

Taxes are a fact of life. But they shouldn’t have to be this kind of unexpected balloon payment.