WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — Blame it on trash.
Should the proposed $33.7 million Whitehall Township fiscal budget for 2025 be approved by the township board of commissioners next week, the main reason for the $2.6 million increase will be the increased cost of dealing with garbage.
Good news for Whitehall Township residents is that no real estate tax increase is proposed in the budget for 2025.Whitehall Township proposed budget
Good news for township residents is that no real estate tax increase is proposed.
The $33,768,584 million budget was among a host of items discussed at the commissioners’ workshop session Monday.
Commissioners will meet again at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 9.
Of the $2.6 million budget increase from 2024, garbage collection accounts for $2.1 million, according to Deputy Mayor John Meyers.
The budget establishes the finances for the general fund, liquid fuels fund, debt service fund and capital reserve fund.
The increases in expenses for 2025 include, but are not limited to, pension costs, township vehicle repairs, building maintenance costs due to the increased square footage requiring janitorial services and consulting services.
Also, a Teamsters’ contract wage increase of 4.25%, a non-union employees’ wage increase of 3.50%, a 5% wage increase for the 51-person Whitehall Police Officers’ Bargaining Unit and a $205,000 increase in Development Bureau operations, which includes blight remediation, comprehensive plan update and stormwater facilities inspections.
Township losing tax revenue
The annual garbage collection fee would be $615 — increased “impactfully,” according to Mayor Joseph Marx Jr.
Those with a second garbage receptacle will pay an extra $130.
The garbage fee will be billed to each customer of the township’s Municipal Solid Waste/Recycling Collection program.
Customers will get a 2% discount for initially paying the fee in full. Residents 72 years old and older will get a 25% discount. Customers also have the option to pay the fee in three installments.
In his budget proposal, Marx said Whitehall is not a growing community. Since countywide reassessment occurred in 2013, Whitehall, as of September, has lost $48 million in taxable assessed property.
By comparison, Upper Macungie Township added $1.1 billion, South Whitehall added $301 million and Coplay added $8 million.
Whitehall has lost $181,000 in real estate tax revenue, compared with 12 years ago.
The end of 2024 also will mark completion of the use of the $2.9 million State and Local Fiscal Recovery funding.
The township is projected to end 2024 with a $66,000 surplus, Marx said.
Ironton Rail Trail project
Also Monday, contracts were approved for the Ironton Rail Trail Trailhead parking facility improvements projects.
Pioneer Construction will perform the construction at a cost of $342,638.02 and Navarro & Wright will serve as the project inspector at a cost of $33,559.18.
Bids were awarded by the state Transportation Department.
The township got a grant of just over $320,000 for the Commonwealth Financing Authority’s Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program for the Ironton Rail Trail Paving and Gates Project.
The Ironton Rail Trail connects nearly a dozen parks and two dozen historical sites in east-central Lehigh County.
The rail-trail comprises a five-mile loop around Coplay and Hokendauqua on the Lehigh River north of Allentown and a 4-mile spur west toward Ironton.
The grant would help fund repaving of the loop and installation of security gates at key intersections by streets in the township and Coplay Borough.
Distribution facility project tabled
A developer’s conditional use request for a 190,400-square-foot distribution facility at the proposed Fullerton Terminals facility at 2451 Main St. was tabled until next Monday.
Commissioners at the November meeting voiced concerns over presumed significant increase in tractor trailer traffic in the area around the site.
During that meeting, representatives of Landston Equities LLC, a Jaindl Land Co. entity, tried to persuade the board that the amount of increased traffic from the facility would not adversely affect the area.
The 13.952-acre site would accommodate 30 tractor-trailer loading docks, 148 employee parking lot spaces and 44 tractor-trailer parking spaces.
Fellowship Community expansion
A plan to add 73 apartments at the Fellowship Community independent living facility at 3600 Mauch Chunk Road appears on the way to being approved.
At issue were concerns by the commissioners over the ability of emergency vehicles, such as fire trucks, to access the rear of the apartments.
On Monday, board member Robert Piligian said Township Fire Chief Mark Bilder is “OK” with the developer’s plan.
The project consists of building 73 independent apartment units over three buildings, each standing three stories and measuring just over 15,000 square feet.
In other business:
- Approval was given to buy a John Deere cab tractor and 2024 Ford F-350 4-by-4 truck for the public works department. This expenditure is included in the 2025 budget.
- Approval given to buy the tractor part for the Tiger Mower, $275. That's also included in the 2025 budget.
- Approval was given for the sublease of property at 5209 Springmill Road for Lehigh County to install equipment and structures for the conversion of the county’s radio communications system.
- Approval was given for the retirement and commencement of monthly pension benefits to former Deputy Police Chief Mark Mazzitelli.
