Taxes Going Up as Budget Talks Continue in Upper Moreland

Last month members of the Upper Moreland School Board voted to adopt a preliminary budget that reflected an increase in real estate taxes for local residents.

The Upper Moreland Budget and Finance Committee had a budgetary gap of $1,693,872 at the start, which was then brought down to $861,493. This month, however, due to School Board wanting to keep the monetary value of the capital reserve set, that gap has risen slightly.

For a home assessed at $127,250 by the township, residents can expect to see a yearly tax increase of $85.32. This tax increase is slightly higher ($77.29) than the one formally adopted just last month.

“The hardest part is trying to keep that balance of quality education versus cutting things out,” Business Manager Michael Braun said.

Braun said even though the real estate taxes saw an increase from the preliminary budget, he anticipates that tax hike to go down as conversations continue in the upcoming months.

With the estimated tax increase, the Budget and Finance Committee still have to find a way to add revenue or cut expenses in the amount of $295,697.

“Over the next few months there’s discussion of just how to get to that,” Upper Moreland Superintendent Dr. Robert Milrod said.

Local officials have had to deal with the increase in the Public School Employees’ Retirement System of more than $1 million to try and get within its budget. The overall budget is up .79-percent from the previous year, but there is still work to be done to tighten the gap. Expenditures are up 3.5-percent from the previous year.

Braun has been assessing homes throughout the township and has already brought in $108,727 in additional revenue to add to the budget.