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Keystone Central notifies municipalities of tax-collection shift to Bergheimer; 2025 collections remain with district
Summary
School district staff told the finance committee that Keystone Central has sent letters notifying municipalities that Bergheimer will take over local tax collection services on Jan. 1; the district will finish collecting 2025 earned-income and local services taxes and distribute funds collected through Dec. 31 to municipalities.
Keystone Central School District officials told the finance committee on Sept. 12 that they have sent a notice to area municipalities informing them that Bergheimer will assume collection of local service taxes (LST) and business privilege taxes (BBT) beginning Jan. 1. The district said it will complete collection of 2025 earned-income tax (EIT) and other 2025 collections before turning routine collections over to Bergheimer.
The notice was attached to a letter the district sent to municipalities; board members said several municipalities had already called to request Bergheimer’s contact information. "And as of January 1, Bergheimer is going to take over LST and BBT taxes," Elizabeth Lynch said during the finance committee meeting.
District staff told the committee that Bergheimer verbally committed to opening a staffed brick-and-mortar office in Clinton County, which the board member said she believed had helped calm some municipal concern. "Bergheimer verbally stated that they were going to open a brick and mortar building and have it staffed somewhere in a location in Clinton County," Lynch said.
Officials clarified how the district will handle existing 2025 payments and the transition. "We're going to finish collecting 2025 taxes," Joni, a district staff member, said. The committee was told that collections and reporting for taxes owed as of Dec. 31 will remain with the district and be distributed by the tax office, while amounts collected after Dec. 31 are to be handled by the new collector chosen by each municipality.
The committee discussed administrative logistics for billing and settlements that overlap the transition. Members asked whether funds collected later could be used to cover legal fees or settlements that relate to earlier collection activity; the district attorney relationship and past practice were cited as the likely way to handle such costs. "My supposition is that any settlement that we reach with someone who's in arrears on their tax payments, the first cut would go to pay legal fees and then the remainder would be distributed," the district solicitor said when asked how settlements typically are handled.
The board chair and staff said they did not intend to advocate for any one collector and had drafted the letter to be informational. "We wanted to be really careful about not making it seem like we're advocating for any 1 particular tax collector," the chair said. The transition and the letter were the subject of committee discussion; the district indicated it will provide procedures for handling bills during the handoff and that staff will respond to municipal questions as they arise.
No formal vote or policy change was taken at the finance committee; the letter had already been sent and the Jan. 1 transition date is part of that administrative plan.
The committee asked staff to provide follow-up details to the full board during an upcoming work session so municipalities and board members can review the implementation timeline and billing procedures.
