Easton Officials Defend Commuter Tax
City needs to prosper for other communities to do well, argues Councilman Roger Ruggles.
After two weeks of battling over a proposed commuter tax increase in public and the press, the city of Easton and Northampton County made peace Monday night.
That doesn't mean that Easton won't be approving the earned income tax, a 1.75 percent levy aimed at people who work in the city but live elsewhere, a group that includes close to 1,000 county employees.
But County Executive John Stoffa told City Council that he wants to work with Easton and other municipalities in lowering the pension costs which are the driving force behind the tax increase.
Stoffa suggested a meeting with state legislators to discuss pension reform.
"We've never done that in the history of the years I’ve been in government," he said.
He also suggested that it's time for non-profit entities to pay a portion of the assessed value of their properties.
Stoffa was one of only two people to speak at the meeting, which was attended by more members of the media than members of the public.
One of those residents was Joe Cevenka of Forks Township. HE said that while some of the tax money would go to things like education "more of our EIT is going to go to pensions that don't benefit us…and that’s frustrating."
Mayor Sal Panto said the situation is frustrating for everyone. He said the city has "pulled itself up by its financial boot straps," yet is still struggling with balancing its budget in a stagnant economy.
"You're not going to see a tax decrease in Easton for 2013," the mayor said, although he acknowledged it had been a goal at one time. "That's not going to happen. I really thought the recession was going to come to an end."
Councilman Roger Ruggles argued that Easton needs to survive for other communities to do well.
"The city itself is the center for the entire commuity. If the city is not a good place, the surrounding communities suffer," Ruggles said.
City officials had initially planned to vote on the tax next Wednesday, but agreed Monday to postpone the vote until the August 8 council meeting. That's at the request of Councilman Ken Brown, who will not be able to attend next week's meeting.
Taxpayer
8:00 am on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
In 2010 / 2011 Council & Sal were aware they were underfunding the pensions. Our city government created this problem and intended on using this unfair tax to bail them out. Taxes are out of control in Easton. This mistake will cause to business to leave the city.
Bob Wesley
7:20 pm on Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Perhaps you should have paid attention in American history class Sal. You would have heard about a little party held in Boston Harbor over taxation without representation. Let me make sure I understand this commuter tax. You and council have been to gutless to curb pensions in your town. It has now become a critical issue. We brainstorm and decide on a referendum to be voted on by city residents. Here are your choices voters we can raise your taxes to pay for our lack of supervisory skills !!! or check this out we will tax people who don't live here and can't vote to pay for our glutteny. I hope you realize non residents pay the same % of our income as do residents. I'm relatively sure that Easton's elected officials would be astonished that commuters pay a tax to their own towns as well as to Easton. Blissfully unaware of anything except themselves like hogs a trough.