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Allentown committee weighs new revenue ideas, amid limits imposed by NIZ and charter rules
Summary
Committee members asked for a standing review of the budget process and a task group to explore revenue options — including entertainment taxes, impact fees, recycling revenue and rebates — while finance staff warned that the Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ) and home-rule limits constrain some options.
Committee members at the Jan. 23 Allentown Budget & Finance meeting pressed administration staff to explore additional revenue sources and to increase council–administration collaboration earlier in the budget cycle.
Miss Patel reviewed the seven-month budget calendar and said the key window for council input is mid-August through early September, when departments’ budget submissions are analyzed and the administration still has time to incorporate priorities into the proposed budget. She said this cycle began with a general-fund gap of about $15 million that the budget team worked through to present a balanced proposal.
Several council members recommended forming a committee or focused working group to study alternatives to broad property-tax increases. Suggestions included entertainment or amusement taxes, reviewing impact fees allowed under the…
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