Jeannette projects $75K more in wage tax collections in 2024 budget

Jeannette plans to hold the line on its property tax rate for 2024.

City manager Ethan Keedy said the $6.15 million budget is balanced without a tax increase. Council was expected to tentatively approve the spending plan Thursday in advance of a final OK next month.

Work on the budget started in October with members of council and department heads meeting in public sessions to examine spending and revenue line-by-line.

The city is expecting to see a big increase — $75,000 more — in earned income taxes next year. Keedy attributed that to more businesses openings and added employees, as well as higher wages paid by employers in Jeannette. Not only does the city’s economy benefit, but taxpayers do, too, he said.

The budget, and future ones for the next 10 years, includes a $33,000 annual payment to the city’s capital reserve. The fund is being tapped to buy a new garbage truck for $331,000 as the fleet ages.

“The city is blessed to be able to collect its own garbage,” Keedy said.

While residential garbage rates will continue to rise annually through 2026, Keedy said the price residents pay is better than some municipalities that contract with outside haulers. Residential garbage rates are increasing from $21 per month in 2023 to $22 per month in 2024 under a schedule approved in 2021.

“It is a lot less expensive than going out to a private hauler,” he said.

Jeannette expects to get about $1.92 million in property taxes in 2024, according to the tentative spending plan. The police department budget is $2.3 million, the sanitation department expects to spend about $1 million, including the garbage truck payment, and the fire department budget stands at $639,000.