2007 News

October 22, 2007

Bucks County Administration Predicts No Tax Increase for 2008
For Second Consecutive Year, Commissioners, Chief Operating Officer & Finance Director Plan to Hold the Line for County Taxpayers

Crediting Bucks County division leaders and department heads for visionary planning during their ongoing 2008 budget preparations, Finance Director Brian Hessenthaler today announced that he is “extremely confident” there will be no tax increase in Bucks County for the second straight year. Citing a healthy general fund balance, savings generated by the BEST (Bucks Employees Saving Taxes) Committee, and a strong commitment to fiscal discipline, Hessenthaler and Chief Operating Officer/Managing Director David M. Sanko noted that the commitment to cost containment is a credit to interdepartmental awareness and cooperation. Hessenthaler and Sanko announced the no-tax increase projection during a news conference today in the Bucks County courthouse administrative conference room.

“We want to take this opportunity to provide Bucks Countians with an update about our superb fiscal condition, which continues to strengthen,” Sanko said.

Because the proposal still must stand up to scrutiny from commissioners Charles H. Martin, chairman, James F. Cawley, Esq., and Sandra A. Miller, it will remain a work in progress as each county department seeks to maximize service levels for county residents. The preliminary 2008 budget will be presented to the public on Wednesday, Nov. 21. The final budget will be slated for adoption by the commissioners prior to Dec. 31, 2007. A public hearing to discuss the budget’s contents will be conducted between those two dates.

“We fully anticipate providing better value for county taxpayers without raising taxes for the second consecutive year,” Hessenthaler said. “Each department was challenged to reiterate its commitment to cost containment. Although the FY 2008 budget is an ongoing process, the preliminary efforts put us in good stead.”

Hessenthaler and Sanko point to multiple areas that have allowed the county to provide an exceptional level of services with as minimal an effect on taxpayers as possible. These include: an expanded general fund balance; meeting the unfunded mandates from Washington and Harrisburg; employee pay raises above the cost of living; high-quality health care, technology investments to increase efficiency such as the ongoing enterprise resource planning venture; a growing prison population; continued commitment to parkland and open space preservation; the emergency management of three Delaware River floods over an 20-month span; a utility audit that will save the county $1 million over five years; the addition of a full-time grants coordinator who has been instrumental in providing additional funding streams for multiple departments; and an unprecedented list of capital projects.

Comparing the county’s budget management to balancing a family checkbook, Sanko noted: “Our payment plan is staggered intentionally so we can continue to do the things we’ve planned for the future. You have to have a structure in place, so when you pay off your house early you can afford to buy a car or meet some other need. It’s about accountability and cash flow.”

The county’s current tax millage rate is 21.942, which is proposed to remain unchanged during 2008. The 2007 operating budget is $448 million – of which nearly 50 percent, or $222 million – is devoted to human services. For more information about the 2007 Bucks County budget, please visit the Bucks County Finance Department.