Latrobe may double its real estate transfer tax as part of a tentative $7.4 million 2025 budget.
But it will leave the property tax rat unchanged.
City officials also are debating a possible increase next year in fees that apply to mechanical devices, including games of chance, while Latrobe’s police union considers a tentative four-year labor agreement that won initial approval from city council at that panel’s meeting this week .
The tax rates and fees should be resolved in December, when council is expected to adopt a final version of the budget.
City manager Terry Carcella said the budget leaves room for the first of annual 3% raises proposed for police officers under the new contract.
The collective salaries for the 14 officers included in the bargaining unit are budgeted at $1.06 million, up from $998,000 that was set aside this year.
Latrobe is proposing to increase the real estate transfer tax from 0.5% to 1%. According to Carcella’s calculations, that new rate could bring in $150,000 in the new year. That compares with the roughly $77,000 collected so far in 2024, with two months remaining in the year.
“That’s equal to 1½ to 2 mills (of property tax),” Carcella said of the anticipated increase in transfer tax revenue.
Carcella suggested increasing the fee establishments are charged per mechanical device from $100 to $400, which he projected would grow related revenue from the $5,100 collected so far this year to as much as $35,200 in the coming year.
Some council members argued the sharp hike would be an excessive burden for some places in town that have the devices.
“That’s a big hit for a small business,” said council member Dawn Vavick.
“It’s been low for a long time,” public works director Scott Wajdic said of the device fee. “Some other places are paying a lot higher fee.”
Some city officials noted the fee increase could affect local fraternal organizations and the firemen’s club. They argued that the fee should not be as high for a pool table as it would be for a likely more lucrative game of chance.
“There should be a differentiation on the games of chance and machines that pay out,” said police Chief Richard Bosco.
The tentative 2025 budget shows projected revenues exceeding planned expenditures by a little less than $15,000. Expenditures are expected to increase by about $302,000 from the current year’s budget.
Council agrees to seek applicants for two new positions, finance director and assistant public works director, that are included in next year’s budget. A management consultant recently recommended that the city create the jobs to ease the burden on district administrators.
Council approved Sgt. Robert Derk’s pending retirement from the police force, in accordance with a new early retirement incentive for city officers. Specific terms of Derk’s retirement were subject to an agreement between the city and the officer.
Derk had served as the handler for the city’s sole police dog, Zeus, until council moved in July to end the city’s K-9 program and retired the German shepherd. City officials cited a decline in the dog’s use in police investigations and said he’d reached the average K-9 retirement age of 8 to 10 years old.
Bosco has said Latrobe has the potential to trim about $40,000 from its police budget for each veteran officer who retires and is replaced by a new hire.
Council in October hired 11-year law enforcement veteran Andrew Ong to shore up its patrol ranks.