Green Tree council reviews 2026 budget and a proposed half‑mill tax increase
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Summary
Borough Manager Diane Judy Miller presented a 2026 preliminary budget that includes a recommended half‑mill property tax increase (about $75 per year for a $150,000 assessed home). Council questioned the timing, size of transfers and posed an alternative to use reserves; staff will provide a no‑increase version before the Dec. 1 adoption.
Borough Manager Diane Judy Miller told the Green Tree Borough Council at a Nov. budget workshop that the preliminary 2026 budget includes a recommended half‑mill property tax increase that would generate about $276,750 borough‑wide and cost the owner of an average assessed $150,000 home roughly $75 a year.
Miller framed the increase as preparation for rising obligations, including debt‑service shifts tied to a 2021 bond refunding that will bring additional general‑fund debt service starting in 2027. She said general fund revenue is heavily dependent on real‑estate taxes (about 82%) and that overall expenses rose about $435,000 from 2025 to 2026, primarily for contractual wage and benefit increases and a roughly $70,000 uptick in the refuse and recycling contract.
Council members sought clarity on millage math and last year’s budgeting; Miller said the 2025 budget had underestimated assessment appeals and that the half‑mill figure reflects current borough‑wide assessed value. She also reviewed interfund transfers and identified the insurance dividend fund as a typical source for balancing one‑time needs.
Several council members said they were uncomfortable increasing taxes while many residents face affordability pressures and county reassessments. One councilor proposed tapping reserves — including the insurance dividend or reserve funds — rather than adopting the tax increase for 2026. Miller agreed to prepare and distribute a version of the budget that removes the half‑mill increase so council can see the effect on fund balances ahead of the formal adoption scheduled for Dec. 1.
The workshop also covered structural budget items and longer‑term capital commitments that factor into the proposal: bond proceeds held for capital, planned road and stormwater projects, and the pending Wilson Pool bid. Miller emphasized that a budget listing does not obligate spending and that council retains discretion on what to authorize.
Next steps: staff will circulate the alternate budget without the millage increase and the council will consider adoption on Dec. 1. No formal vote occurred at the workshop.
