Wayne County property taxes are going up by over two mills in 2025, the county commissioners announced Dec.19.
Besides overall increased costs, Commissioner Chairperson Brian Smith highlighted the need to give a cost-of-living increase for approximately 400 county employees as part of the justification for more revenue.
The county’s millage rate will go from 3.240 mills to 3.483 mills, an annual increase of approximately $24 per $100,000 of assessed value. This is an increase of 7.5% The budget, passed unanimously, includes $1,929,551 in increased revenue in 2025.
What does it take to run Wayne County? The 2025 budget totals $41,790,497, a net increase of 4.7% over 2024.
In a statement released during the meeting, Smith commented, “Here in Wayne County, we pride ourselves in being able to doing more with less and this budget does that. We know that our residents are struggling with inflation and the increased costs in goods and while we did our best to make cuts where feasible, a very slight tax increase was still necessary.”
Discussing the cost-of-living increase, the commissioners noted that given the “competitive workforce environment,” wages need to be increased to be able to attract and retain employees in order to maintain the “high level of services” the public expects.
“The challenge to provide our employees a wage level necessary for them to have a livable wage so they can continue to provide valuable and required county services to our constituents, must always be balanced against what we need to pass onto the taxpayers,” Commissioner James Shook said in the statement. “With limited other funding sources available to the county other than taxes, this is a challenge we will continue to wrestle with year after year.”
This increase does not apply to employees covered by union contracts, who receive the rates laid out in their agreement, County Clerk Andrew Seder said.
The 2025 General Fund budgeted wages, including elected personnel, 911 and Children & Youth Services (CYS) is $16,963,945, Seder said. “Human Services salaries, other than CYS, are not reflected in the General Fund budget. We provide a required and needed local match; it is shown as an appropriation to Human Services,” he stated.
By comparison, the 2024 General Fund wages to date, and estimated to the end of the current year, are $16,329,468.
Wayne County government is the fourth-largest employer in the county, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry.
Shook noted that about 90% of the Human Services Department budget is to cover services mandated by law. That budget alone totals $12,881,149; this is an increase from just over $11.5 million in 2024.
The budget reflects other cost increases related to internet technology, including cyber security, software, hardware, servers, laptops and computers and related equipment, and increased fees for licenses for a variety of programs, the statement reads. “In addition, the costs for vehicles, vehicle maintenance, the maintenance of buildings and grounds and contracted services, continue to climb,” the commissioners said.
“The increasing number of acres throughout Wayne County being enrolled into the Clean and Green tax relief program is also negatively impacting tax collections,” they noted.
“We don’t raise taxes often and it’s always a last resort but after several funding sources scaled back, while the needs of many county services have continually increased, we were left with no other options,” Commissioner Jocelyn Cramer said in the statement. “We are acutely aware of the impact a tax increase, even a small one like this, has on our seniors and we will continue to try to not backfill some vacancies, to find savings in energy wherever we can and to make sure our employees and department heads are doing whatever they can to curb spending and to make decisions with our taxpayers in mind.”
Wayne County Chief Financial Officer Vicky Botjer was thanked by the commissioners for her work on the budget, as well each department for watching costs, which Smith stressed is year-round.
Read more about the budget at waynecountypa.gov/1013/2025-Budget.
More Wayne County business
The commissioners honored Linda Billard for 25 years working in the sheriff’s department, and Diane Gibbons for 10 years’ service in the mailroom.
They approved a motion for the 2025 Annual Compensation Stipend in the amount of $500 for full-time employees and $250 for part-time employees that meet the following criteria: Were actively on payroll on Nov. 29, 2024; are not covered by a bargaining unit contract; have not submitted a retirement or resignation notice, or been terminated with an effective date between Dec. 1, 2024, and Jan. 3, 2025; and have worked at least five shifts over the past 60 days.
Peter Becker has worked at the Tri-County Independent or its predecessor publications since 1994. Reach him at pbecker@tricountyindependent.com or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.
This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Wayne County commissioners pass 2025 budget; taxes up over 2 mills
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