Bethlehem is considering its second tax hike in as many years. Bethlehem Township is struggling with a 37.6 percent tax hike that may have cost two incumbent Commissioners their jobs. But Hanover Township’s Board of Supervisors are poised to adopt their eighth consecutive zero tax hike budget. At their Nov. 10 meeting, they authorized Solicitor Jim Broughal to advertise their 2016 spending plan, which is scheduled for adoption on Dec. 15.

The tax rate will remain steady and “on target,” as supervisors like to joke, at 3.9 mills. This means a person in a home assessed at $100,000 can expect to pay $195 in taxes.

The township is debt free, too. Its Community Center and all other debts have been paid off and ahead of schedule. Its fire tax will pay for fire apparatus through the year 2034. It will soon take delivery of a $1.2 million fire truck, for which it will pay cash.

“There will be a point when we have to raise taxes,” said manager Jay Finnigan. But that won’t be this year. He explained his fiscal policy in one short sentence. “Never burden taxpayers by paying tomorrow what you can pay today.”

This is in contrast to municipalities who borrow to pay current operating costs. That creates a structural imbalance that can only be fixed by more borrowing or a tax hike.

Another major difference between Hanover Township and other municipalities is in how employees are paid. Raises are merit based, said Finnigan, and can be anywhere from 0 to 4 percent in a given year. Bethlehem and Bethlehem Township tend to give across-the-board wage hikes to nonunion employees.

Hanover also relies on local businesses and the community for smaller improvements. Public Works Director Vince Milite announced that nine dog waste stations have been installed at parks in the township where dogs are now permitted. Much of the cost of these stations was covered by local businesses like FreshPet, which specializes in fresh and natural dog and cat food.

Director of Administration and Treasurer Ryan Kish also informed supervisors that the township intends to transfer most of its deposits, valued at about $15 million, from National Penn to Embassy Bank. National Penn, which recently merged with megabank BB and T, was at one time headquartered in Hanover Township. It moved into Allentown’s Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ). Despite having lower operating costs, it is unable to compete with the rates offered by Embassy, which is headquartered in Hanover Township.