On July 2nd, 2019, Governor Wolf signed into law Act 51 of 2019, which amended the Borough Code establishing a new process of adopting an annual property tax rate. Act 51 became effective August 31, 2019.
Until Act 51, boroughs were required to adopt an ordinance every year to set a property tax rate. Enacting an ordinance that requires a legal advertisement, when the rates stay the same, was considered an unnecessary use of taxpayer resources.
Now under Act 51 boroughs will enact the tax rate pursuant to the following:
- If the property tax rate stays the same or is decreased from the prior year, you must adopt by resolution;
- If the property tax rate is increased from the prior year, you must use an ordinance;
- A tax resolution is still subject to the approval of the mayor (Sec. 3301.3);
- Same rules apply for veto and override of mayor’s veto of the tax resolution;
- A tax resolution must be recorded in the ordinance book within 30 days (Sec. 3301.4);
- A tax resolution OR ordinance must now include a statement expressing the rate of taxation in dollar and cents on each $100 of assessed valuation of taxable property (Sec. 1302(b)).
Note the sample resolution document below is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace legal counsel. We recommend that legal documents, including sample resolutions and ordinances, be reviewed by your municipal solicitor prior to adoption.
Sample Tax Resolution