Newtown Borough is proposing a slight tax increase for 2024.
Last week, Newtown Borough Council voted to advertise a proposed budget of roughly $4 million.
The proposed spending plan includes a one-mill tax increase, which will equal about $45 extra in the yearly tax bill.
The slight tax hike is proposed to put three-quarters of a mill for Newtown Fire Rescue, which covers the borough and township. A quarter of a mill will go to support the Newtown Ambulance Squad, which supports the borough and several nearby municipalities.
Council President Tara Grunde-McLaughlin said the budget is about $1 million higher than last year, but the increase is due to the borough’s hope that a grant for a pedestrian bridge to span the Newtown Creek will be approved by the state. The grant request is for just under $1 million.
Council Member Kris Bauman said the 2024 budget would have no negative impact if the grant is not awarded in 2024, and the extra million dollars budgeted would not be spent.
The council will vote on the final budget at their December meeting.
In other business, Newtown Borough Council voted to hire Kallie Kohnow as a new part-time police officer.
Kohnow is a Bucks County resident and a 2020 graduate of Pennsbury High School in Falls Township. She earned an associate degree in Criminal Justice from Bucks County Community College. In 2023, she graduated from the Temple University Municipal Police Academy.
