NORTH HUNTINGDON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Commissioners say North Huntingdon Township hasn’t seen a tax increase since 2012. The newly approved 30% increase will go toward improvements such as the 160 miles of roadway the township maintains, but people are still shocked by the number.
“I mean, we are struggling to make it anyway, and everyone is working overtime to try and make ends meet, and they can’t keep a budget,” resident Patrick Carson said.
“They always say it’s for this and that, and it never is,” resident Bob Kettren said.
Some say the 30% increase approved by township commissioners this week is too much.
“It’s very significant,” Carson said. “So it’s just difficult. We have nothing to say because I don’t know what we can do about it.”
Commissioner Jason Atwood says the current tax base is at 9.23 mils, which is one of the lowest in the state.
The new increase would be a 1.5 mil increase on property taxes and a 2 mil increase for the capital reserve fund, which funds the federally mandated storm water management project and road improvements.
“This was a difficult decision,” Atwood said. “I’m raising my own taxes as well. My 90-year-old grandmother lives in the township, so we are taking all of this into consideration.”
According to Atwood, the township hasn’t been assessed since the 1970s. So he believes the annual impact would be minimal.
The commission also approved 3-5% pay increases for several department heads, including a take-home car for the police chief.
“We looked at their evaluations and their performance over the past year and felt that we would give them a cost-of-living increase,” Commission Vice President Ronald Zona said. “And in the overall budget, it is a very minuscule amount. The two have no bearing on each other, and taxes were not raised to cover this amount.”
According to the commissioners, this increase also comes with a five-year projection plan, so taxes should not be increased again anytime soon.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
