The 2020 property tax bills for Whitehall Township will be sent out March 1. Before residents get sticker shock over the increased taxes, there are some important things you should know.

Firstly, how much more will you be paying on your property taxes? That answer lies in the millage rate.

In 2019, the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners approved a millage rate increase from 2.8 to 3.8. That means, for every $1,000 of your property’s assessed value, you will pay $3.80 in property taxes, whereas last year, you would have paid $2.80 per every $1,000 of the assessed value.

The simplest way to calculate the effect of that 1-mill increase in your taxes is to take the assessed value of your property and divide it by $1,000. For example, the average home with an assessed value of $150,000 will pay $150 more on property taxes in 2020.

Remember, the assessed value of your property is specifically calculated for tax purposes and is not the same as its appraised value. The entire appraised value of your property is not taxable, so the assessed value will be less.

This leads to the second most important thing to know: Why are property taxes going up in Whitehall Township?

The increase is almost entirely a result of the township’s new emergency services building, which is set to begin construction in March.

With a budget of $17.5 million, Whitehall will construct an entirely new building to house its police and fire departments and will also renovate the existing municipal building for repairs and improvements.

With that multimillion-dollar price tag comes an increase in taxes for the township - a $1 million tax increase for 2020, specifically. The rest of the cost will be covered in other ways. Last year, the township was issued a 30-year bond of $10 million, but they’re still pursuing additional money beyond that.

Importantly, the commissioners and township administration have been sensitive to the impact this new building will have on taxpayers and residents. Whitehall Township officials have been hard at work to keep costs low on the project and are currently operating $1 million under budget.

According to Mayor Michael Harakal Jr., the construction was originally quoted at $25.5 million, but the township was able to cut out approximately $8 million to bring the costs down to the current $17.5 million.

Of course, such a costly project should not be undertaken if it won’t improve the life of the township and its residents, so the new building and renovations have been designed with that in mind.

First of all, operating in the current municipal building is becoming untenable, according to township administration. The building was old when they first moved in, and now Harakal describes it as “on the verge of falling down.” So it’s been time for an upgrade, and the new building will last for at least the next 50 years.

Aside from better spaces for the police department, fire department and township administration, the new building will also include a public transaction area. This will be a space where residents and visitors can get information, pay bills, input applications and complete many other tasks that may have required several trips to different locations in the past.

This will be part of the renovations done to the existing municipal building and is intended to streamline those processes for residents and administration.

Harakal described the new construction as “a good building, at a good price” and knows it will serve the needs of the public and provide space for growth over the next several decades.