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Scranton Mayor Proposes 2015 Budget

SCRANTON — Another tax hike is looming in The Electric City. The mayor says he was left with few options to balance the city’s budget. Those options...
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SCRANTON -- Another tax hike is looming in The Electric City.

The mayor says he was left with few options to balance the city's budget. Those options include more property taxes, plus a hike in a wage tax that will affect people who live in the city, and even some who live outside it.

We met with Scranton Mayor Bill Courtright and members of his cabinet Thursday afternoon about the 2015 budget proposal he will hand to city council.

The mayor believes this budget will end up being balanced and won't add to the city's debt.

But that means some harsh realities for taxpayers.

Over a cup of coffee and some eggs, Michael Duffy told us what has happened to the west Scranton neighborhood where he delivered mail for 30 years.

"I'd say about one third of the population that lived there don't live there anymore. The ones that do live there, there's a lot of them that have their homes up for sale. And they can't sell them because Scranton properties have depreciated so much," Duffy said.

Caramanno's Deli on South Main Avenue is a fixture in west side. The owner James Caramanno says the mayor comes there for lunch a few times a week. So, Caramanno expected a hike in his property taxes next year.

The mayor's proposing a 19% increase for property taxes in 2015. That means about $100 more to the average taxpayer.

"He has to do something, to get out of the hole, whether it's raise taxes or lay people off," said Caramanno.

"He's actually hiring people."

"Well, that, I disagree," Caramanno said. "I think they've been cut to the bone in the past."

Mayor Bill Courtright justified those hiring plans by saying the five added positions will be funded through grants or from cuts in other departments.

Even though his attempt for a commuter tax failed, the mayor's 2015 budget proposal includes tax increases for some people who don't live in the city.

The local services tax on all wage earners in the city would triple from $52 dollars to $156 per year.

When presenting his proposal, Mayor Courtright relied a lot on his team who helped draw up the budget to explain the numbers. But the team seems confident they will be able to pull off smaller increases in taxes in 2016 and 2017, as promised in his recovery plan this summer.

"I think we tried to be as honest as we could up front. And that's why we told them three years out what we anticipate. Honestly, I was worried if we were going to make the 18%. I know it's difficult to enact a property tax increase on people who are already stressed out," said Mayor Courtright.

Mayor Courtright will hand his budget proposal to city council. Council will review it for the first time at their meeting Thursday.

Council has final approval and need to have it passed by mid-December.

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