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WILKES-BARRE — Against pleas from residents, the city council Thursday night approved an amended $47.1 million balanced budget that will add hundreds of dollars next year to property owners’ tax bills.
By a 3-2 vote, council ratified the general fund budget with a 19.7-mill increase for 2017.
Council members and the administration agreed to shave $771,571 from the initial spending plan proposed by Mayor Tony George in October and reduce the millage rate increase from the 30 mills the mayor recommended.
According to data provided by the city, the tax hike for a property with a $79,500 value, which is the median assessed value in the city, amounts to $144 a year.
A mill is a $1 tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. The city uses its own assessment, whereas most municipalities use Luzerne County’s values. The new millage rate in the city increases to 141.33 mills from 121.63.
Starting with Sam Troy, a half dozen residents and taxpayers pleaded for relief from a tax hike and recommended increases and cuts elsewhere.
“The property owner in this city has been taking it on the chin. We’ve been body slammed. We’ve been exploited,” Troy protested.
The mayor, who accepted council’s invitation and attended its last regularly scheduled public meeting for the year, made a brief argument for the budget.
“We’re raising taxes for services. People want services, you have to pay for the services,” George said.
But Bob Kadluboski questioned how benefits and pensions factored into the tax increase. He pointed out taxpayers pay for the $82,000 salary and $26,213 health insurance coverage for the mayor.
“Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered. We have to stop this,” Kadluboski said.
George responded he pays the premium for his coverage and that he, city administrator Ted Wampole and deputy administrator Tim Henry did not take the 3 percent pay increase given to other city employees.
Angel Mathis held up a plastic bag of prescription drugs for her daughter and said the 2½-month supply is worth $168,000. Insurance and pharmaceutical companies assist her with the more than $1 million it costs annually for the medication, she said. Many senior citizens aren’t as fortunate and have to choose between paying for medication, food, utilities and taxes, she said.
“But please vote no because there’s other ways and other opportunities to increase revenue,” she said, suggesting a sales tax increase and increasing the annual payments King’s College makes in lieu of taxes.
The mayor said King’s and Wilkes University have increased their annual voluntary payments to $100,000 each over the next five years for a combined $1 million.
Property owner Debbie McLain called upon the mayor, members of his administration, city council and the department heads in attendance to share the hardship that taxpayers will feel with the tax hike.
“There is not person in this room sitting in front of me that deserves a 3 percent … salary increase on the backs of my octogenarian neighbors in my neighborhood. I made the sacrifices over the years; I want all of you to do the same thing. Any way that you can give back, I want you to give back,” she demanded.
John Suchoski joined in and called for cutting the mayor’s salary to $65,000.
“Some of these salaries are from a decadent past and we don’t have that money any more,” Suchoski said.
When it came time to vote, council members Tony Brooks and Beth Gilbert opposed the budget while Chairman Bill Barrett, Vice Chairman Mike Merritt and Councilman Mike Belusko supported it.
After the vote, Wilkes-Barre Police Department Commander of Patrol Ron Foy spoke for more than 20 minutes in response to what amounted to a no-confidence vote by the Police Benevolent Association in Chief Marcella Lendacky.
Foy singled out union president Sgt. Phil Myers as “the main protagonist” in the controversy surrounding the department that culminated in an anonymous survey of PBA members that was critical of Lendacky.
Prior to Lendacky’s appointment by the mayor this year, Myers was “the defacto chief,” Foy said. “He came in and went when he wanted. He wore what he wanted to work, did what he wanted when he was there, said what he wanted.”
Myers presented copies of the survey to council at the Dec. 8 meeting asking that it investigate the department.
Gilbert said she supports an investigation.
Foy said he, the chief and commander of investigations Joe Coffay welcome an investigation if council calls for one and issued a warning. “However, for some of the members, be careful what you wish for,” Foy said.
Gilbert reiterated her support of the investigation and told Foy, “If you have to come to city council and give a 15-minute presentation, essentially a character assassination of one of your police officers, I think you have bigger problems in the police department than you thought.”
