ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown officials are aiming to put the final touches on the city’s 2025 budget well ahead of the new year.
City Council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Dec. 11 to vote on any amendments to Mayor Matt Tuerk’s proposed spending and revenue plans for next year. Council also could vote on the budget’s final passage.
Tuerk is proposing a balanced budget with no increase in property tax rates, though city residents would see their annual trash-collection fees climb $190.
Council voted 4-3 last month approved a five-year, $90 million contract with J.P. Mascaro & Sons, which will replace Waste Management as the city’s trash hauler.
The mayor is not seeking any new positions in 2025 and instead is asking to invest in the city’s existing staff with promotions, raises and other benefits.
Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk is proposing a balanced budget with no increase in property tax rates, though city residents would see their annual trash-collection fees climb by $190.
Allentown is projected to earn $6.2 million more than initially budgeted for 2024, which let administration officials balance the $145 million general-fund budget for 2025 without hiking property taxes.
The city collected more than expected thanks to healthy returns on its investments and a significant increase in its total assessed property value after several large-scale developments were added to the tax rolls this year.
That — and more residents working and paying the earned-income tax — boosted the city’s tax revenues without raising tax rates, officials said.
Smooth sailing
Council over the past two months has held four special meetings to analyze Tuerk’s budget proposal and speak to department chiefs about their needs for next year.
Members raised several questions at each meeting but none that indicated any major reservations with the mayor’s plans.
A fight over taxes during the budgeting process for 2025 seemed almost inevitable after the mayor clashed with council last year over his multiple tax-increase proposals and a budget veto.
Tuerk seems to have avoided another potential flashpoint by presenting council with a 2025 budget that does not call for a property-tax hike, though members still must approve his proposed trash-fee increase.
Council passed its final 2024 budget — which Tuerk allowed to take effect without his signature — on Dec. 12 last year.
