Middletown Holds Tax Rate Steady For 2025, But Expects Deficit

Taxes won’t be increasing in Middletown Township for 2025, but officials are already looking to the future as a $2.8 million deficit is expected.

The $45 million budget passed in a 3-1 vote last Monday evening. The plan will keep the township tax rate at 19.025 mills and plans for $3.5 million in capital expenses.

Supervisor Dana Kane raised concerns about the township’s budget in the coming years due to the deficit.

Township Manager Stephanie Teoli Kuhls said the municipality budgeted for a deficit in past years, but 2024 was the first year there was a deficit that occurred. She said another one is expected for 2025.

Kane and Supervisors Chairperson Mike Ksiazek both agreed that the township needs to examine solutions to the deficit.

“Every year during, as we go through the budget process, we’re weighing and balancing a number of different factors,” Ksiazek said. “I think the thought this year was that looking forward to 2025, we’re going to have to be really conservative with respect to spending.”

Ksiazek commended township staff and department directors for their willingness to “tighten their belts” and focus on critical projects rather than presenting wish lists.

“The general fund, fire protection fund, are things that you’re going to have to really look at. We’re going to take a hard look at this time next year,” Teoli Kuhls said.

The township manager noted that while the general fund faces challenges, other township funds are “doing okay.”

Township officials wrote in a budgeting document that a structural deficit can be fixed by looking at spending and possible future increases to real estate taxes.

In the budget, 86 percent of spending from the general fund goes toward salaries and benefits for employees.

The police department takes up the largest chunk of spending, with 52 percent of spending dedicated to the law enforcement agency, while the Earned Income Tax is the largest revenue source for the township.

The township has “aggressively” sought grant revenue, with $2.9 million coming into the municipality in 2024, Teoli Kuhls said.

The township plans to spend $500,000 for improvements to local roads; $1.5 million for upgrades to the police parking lot, municipal complex roof, improvements to Langhorne-Middletown Fire Company station on Yardley-Langhorne Road, and added security for the municipal complex; new vehicles for several departments; new turnout gear for firefighters; $90,000 for new computers, conference room technology, police mobile data terminals, and broadcast system upgrades; $110,000 for a comprehensive parks plan; $30,000 for tree work; $1.4 million for Middletown Community Park and Lions Park upgrades; $155,000 for police cameras, tasers, and patrol rifles; $30,000 for streetlight pole replacements; $19,500 for public works shop equipment; $25,000 for a road condition assessment tool; $200,000 for solar arrays to reduce energy consumption; and $1.5 million for transportation projects.

Residents will see a waste and recycling fee hike as part of the township’s new five-year contract with Waste Management. The fee will increase from $401 to $476 per household.

Separate from the approved budget, the township will implement a new stormwater fee fund maintenance and improvements to the township’s stormwater infrastructure starting in 2025.

The supervisors voted to approve the fee at the meeting last week.

The fee was approved after extensive discussion and investigation by a committee established to assess the feasibility of maintaining and improving township stormwater infrastructure.

“We’ve been talking about it year to year,” Teoli Kuhls said. “The stormwater fee is going to really help the capital fund and have a designated funding source also, something we’ve been talking about for 10 years.”

The fee structure includes a flat $60 annual charge for residential properties. Commercial and multifamily properties will be subject to a tiered system based on the amount of impervious surface on each parcel.

An SUV traveled through street flooding in Middletown. File photo.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com

Nick Valla, the assistant township manager, noted that apartment buildings are considered commercial properties under the ordinance.

“The way it’s defined in the ordinance, apartment buildings are considered commercial,” Valla said. “So it’s not gonna be the unit. It’s going to be the building.”

Supervisor Dana Kane expressed concern about the $500 monthly cap for commercial properties, particularly for large apartment complexes with significant impervious surface area.

Valla stated that the cap applies per parcel, and many large properties consist of multiple parcels that would each be subject to its own fee.

During public comment, some residents expressed concern about the impact of continued development on stormwater management. One resident asked if the board was considering any ordinances to slow down development in the area.

Township Solicitor James Esposito explained the limitations on restricting development.

“We’re somewhat constrained by state law as to what we’re allowed to do with our ordinances. There are state laws that provide what you can and can’t do,” he said.

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