Pennsylvania Voters Reject Property Tax Hikes

With an already-weakened economy that has put Pennsylvania families on a tight budget, Monroe County taxpayers finally said “enough is enough!” when confronted with two referendums on Tuesday’s ballot calling for increases in county property taxes. Voters rejected these proposals, one to bailout an long-failing library system and the other to fund a $72 million expansion of Northampton Community College, by a 62 to 38% margin.

A library tax referendum also appeared on neighboring Pike County’s ballot where taxpayers denied the tax increase by a sweeping 77 to 23% margin.

This taxpayer victory highlights the benefits an Initiative and Referendum process can bring to state and local government. By letting citizens, not spendthrift bureaucrats, decide which projects they deem worthy of their hard-earned tax dollars, perhaps we can bring some fiscal sanity back to the Keystone State.