Finance committee to update tax-collector manual; interim-bill postage reimbursement to rise to $1

The finance committee reviewed a periodic update to the tax-collector manual and agreed to revise the interim real-estate tax bill postage reimbursement from $0.75 to $1.00, with the revised manual to be presented for school board vote next week.

Anthony Rapp, director of business administration, said the manual must be updated every four years before the primary election and summarized current compensation levels: $3.75 per real-estate bill, $1.50 per occupation assessment bill, and $0.75 per interim real-estate tax bill for postage and printing. Current tax collectors requested multiple changes: indexing real-estate fees to annual tax-rate increases, a 50-cent increase in occupation assessment compensation (a one-third increase), and raising the interim-bill reimbursement to $1.75.

Rapp told the committee his original recommendation was to leave most rates unchanged given Council Rock's standing as the fourth-highest compensated district in Bucks County and to approve only the interim-bill postage adjustment to $1.00. Committee members agreed that the only change they would include in the manual for next week's board vote was the interim-bill reimbursement increase; other requested adjustments were not accepted by the committee.

Board members asked administrative clarifications during the discussion: whether the change affects elected positions (it does not change the elective nature of tax collectors), the periodicity of updates (every four years), and that the manual revision provides transparency to prospective candidates about compensation. Rapp said the district had met with current tax collectors to collect their requests and that the administration would finalize the manual text for the board meeting next week.