HONESDALE, PA — The Honesdale Borough Council closed out 2023 by saying goodbye to members Eric Cooley and Michael Augello, who will not return in the new year.

The meeting was relatively brief. Without any of the debate accompanying budget talks in past weeks, the council adopted a tax ordinance and budget for 2024. On both measures, all voted yes, except James Hamill. Throughout the budget process, Hamill objected to the decision to scrap the earned-income tax in favor of higher property taxes. He expressed doubt that the council had allocated enough money for future stormwater repairs.

“My ‘no’ votes… relate to my steadfast belief that we should not be burdening taxpayers, real estate owners in the Borough of Honesdale,” Hamill said after the votes were taken. “And just doing a little bit of investigating with the Wayne County assessment office, it looks like the assessed values of homes in Honesdale Borough have gone from about $270 million to $413 million because of the reassessment” done countywide.

The burden was shifted once with reassessment, he said, “and now we’re upping that ante with another full one-mil increase.”

How to spend a surplus

Later in the meeting, councilor and finance chair William McAllister asked that a $46,000 surplus check from the borough’s insurance company be used pay for the health insurance premiums of borough employees. Hamill pushed back, saying there should be more discussion before voting on an expenditure.

“It is not on the agenda as an expenditure,” Hamill said. “We can’t take action on that right now.”

Augello agreed that that matter needed to wait for the next meeting. McAllister withdrew his request and asked to have it taken up at the January 2 meeting.

Hamill still said this also was too rushed, but Augello noted that just placing it on the next meeting’s agenda did not necessarily mean it was going to pass. The motion to place it on the next meeting’s agenda passed 5-1, with Hamill voting against.