In last week’s article about the New Hope-Solebury School District raising taxes 2 percent (New Hope-Solebury eyes final budget with 2% tax increase, June 1), Board President Judy Finn is quoted as claiming a major difference in fees charged by the two municipalities. Comparison of the fee schedules shows only minor differences.
The difference in the fees charged for construction on the main campus of the district in New Hope relative to the charges for the one isolated building in Solebury is due to the scale of the building projects, not to the fee schedules themselves. That is to be expected.
Ms. Finn’s comment that the fees are paid by “taxpayers” seems to imply that New Hope is gouging Solebury taxpayers when, of course, the body of taxpayers includes New Hope property owners.
Since she raised the subject of taxes, it might be of some interest to New Hope taxpayers to note that the $625,000 in new school taxes proposed is more than the $515,799 total in borough property taxes to be collected in 2023. Assuming they will pay half the new school taxes, that 2 percent increase by the school district represents the equivalent of a 60 percent increase in borough property taxes — which, in fact, have not been raised at all for eight years.
Peter B. Meyer, New Hope Borough Council
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