Bethlehem passes budget with 5% tax hike and new stormwater fee
Updated Dec 16, 2020;
Bethlehem City Council Tuesday night backed a 5% tax increase to help the city weather the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and created a new stormwater fee.
The $87.4 million spending plan cuts six jobs through attrition and means the average homeowner of a home with an assessed value of $50,000 would pay $46 more a year in city taxes.
It passed in a 6-1 vote with Councilman Bryan Callahan dissenting due to the tax hike and cuts to the city fire department through attrition.
The budget includes no new jobs or programs. It cuts four firefighters from each city platoon as well as two Bethlehem Service Center employees, estimated to save $500,000 annually in salary and benefits. Bethlehem’s workforce will drop to a low of 588 people, from a high of 670 back in 2010.