The Whitehall Township administration, led by Mayor Edward D. Hozza Jr. and Deputy Mayor Jack Meyers, currently is preparing for the 2014 budget season.

Should the township's financial reports over the last several months act as a comparable guide, work on the 2014 tentative budget should be more manageable in terms of keeping the millage rate stabilized.

There was no hike in real estate taxes for Whitehall property owners in 2013.

The present $19 million budget most likely will rise in 2014, when taking into account salary increases, some mandated by union contracts, and the cost of doing business.

Hozza said all township departments have submitted their proposed budgets for review.

"It is too early to say if there will be or not be an increase in real estate taxes for property owners," Hozza said.

"I don't think so," he added, referring to keeping the real estate tax rate at 2013 levels.

Utilizing Lehigh County's reassessment formula, the township's present millage rate is 2.8 mills, Lehigh County's real estate millage rate is 3.79 mills and the Whitehall-Coplay School District property tax millage is 14.92 mills.

Asked if the proposed budget will include any high-price ticket items, Hozza said he does not think so, except for a dump truck for the public works department, projected to cost $100,000.

However, Hozza said the administration may seek approval from the board of commissioners to send bids out for the new truck this year so the department will have the truck in time for the snow season. Payment for the truck would come out of the 2014 budget.

The commissioners, headed by President Linda Snyder, will schedule hearings on next year's budget after they receive necessary documents, which should be by the middle of next month.

The department heads and the administration are present at the hearings to explain their proposed spending plans. If previous years are an indicator, changes to their proposals very well could be made by the board.

Once the hearings are completed, the board presents the budget at its meeting for a reading, and during the second meeting, usually in December, it adopts the budget.

The budget has to be submitted to the board of commissioners by the Oct. 15 deadline as set forth by the township's Home Rule Charter.