MILFORD, PA — Beginning his announcement of the county’s new budget proposal last Wednesday, Commissioners Chair Rich Caridi began with the salient point, “There will be no new taxes in this budget.”

The combined county millage (tax) rate remains at 18.54 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

The proposed $37.9 million spending budget includes a $473,000 cut in spending, which reflects a similar projected reduction in county revenues.

This would be the third consecutive year without a tax increase, and county spending has dropped $3 million in that period.

Despite a $3.5 million increase in the county’s assessed values since 2013, Caridi said the tax rate reflects the county’s continuing real estate forfeiture problems. “We had to consider the ability of people to pay real estate taxes… Everybody out there is having difficulties. We’re still having sheriff’s sales, a lot of them,” he said.

“Other than [from] the state, we have no other revenues,” he said.

“There have been repeated moves in Harrisburg to get other sources of revenue—sales tax, etc.—but nothing ever passes,” Commissioner Karl Wagner said.

“Even the state’s giving up one-quarter [of its 1% share] of the real-estate transfer tax would help, but they say ‘no,’” Caridi added. The other 1% of the tax is shared locally.

Caridi said no jobs were cut with the new spending cuts, but personnel reductions from attrition continue. Departmental requests often went unfulfilled. “We don’t make a lot of people happy in their spending requests,” he said.

After making the county employees’ pension program whole in 2006 and 2007, the two investment entities funding it are doing well, Caridi said.

“And we’re still funding it at 100%. We’re not going to fall into the same hole as the state did,” Osterberg added.

Additionally, the announced re-design of the courthouse addition will have no impact on the budget, Osterberg said.

The county tallied its costs in the Eric Frein manhunt and last week sent an itemized bill for $118,000 to the state police. Caridi said the repayment was based on a face-to-face agreement. “There was no formal document. We were told to keep an itemized list and that’s what we did,” he said.

The manhunt cost was not included in anticipated revenues in the budget, he added.

Pike has realized savings in debt service. “We re-packaged and refinanced when rates were lower, and we’re getting $60,000 to $70,000 in benefits now,” Caridi said. Barring new costs, Pike will be debt-free in 14 years, he said. “The county is in excellent financial shape.”