Lebanon City Council votes to hike property taxes 28%

(Lebanon) — The mayor says she had no choice; property owners in the city of Lebanon will face a 28 percent tax increase starting next year.

The hike, which amounts to about $115 for the average home in Lebanon, will raise more than $800,000 for the city.

It’s the first property tax hike since 2011.

City Council approved the move as part of the budget by a unanimous vote.

Mayor Sherry Capello says the city has cut 17 full-time positions since 2010 and there’s nowhere else to raise revenue.

“I think we’ve done everything possible to try to minimize this as much as we can. No one likes to increase taxes, but we really have limited choices available to us,” she says.

In recent years, salaries, pensions and benefit costs have skyrocketed in the city of about 25,000. Capello says that group of expenses makes up 84% of the budget.

“Just with the cost of providing services and salary and benefit increases, it’s difficult to not go one year without a tax increase or something to, you gotta somehow account for those increases,” add Capello.

But the property tax increase could be reduced if council decides to use one-time revenue from a deal with the railroad company Norfolk Southern.

A decision on that front is expected November 20th.

As for the future, Capello says the city is excited about a number of small businesses that have started up in the area, and she says she’s in discussions with other larger businesses to locate within the city limits. She says she can’t reveal who out of respect for the companies that may move.