News

November 22, 2008

Hazleton tax collection questioned

City records show EMS tax collections are down by $300,000 compared to 2007.

B. GARRET ROGAN Times Leader Correspondent

HAZLETON – Hazleton City Council again grappled with the thorny issue of tax collection at Wednesday’s meeting, with the Emergency Management and Services and garbage collection taxes named as the most troubling.

Councilman Robert Nilles continued voicing the frustrations he raised in the last council meeting, listing the EMS tax as being part of a system that “provides no benefit for the city.”

He was joined in his disapproval by Councilwoman Evelyn Graham, who argued the city should have greater authority in enforcing the collection of the tax.

The city is slated to collect about $300,000 less from the EMS tax than what was collected in 2007, which exceeded $500,000.

The EMS tax is deducted from employer payrolls, and it is the responsibility of the employer to provide for its collection. Exemptions exist for employees who make less than $12,000 annually.

Both Nilles and Graham were skeptical of the degree to which area employers are lawful in their compliance with the city law. Graham went so far as to suggest that the city be allowed greater access to employer tax records to verify tax payments.

Council President Tom Yanuzzi shared in the concern over the loss of revenue, but sought to explain the reasons for the perceived shortcomings. He explained that in 2007 a $52 tax could be taken from one paycheck, but a change in state law allowed for employers to take as little as $1 from each paycheck weekly.

Seasonal workers might thus pay a lesser amount than they might have in the past.

Neighboring municipalities like West Hazleton and Hazle Township also have reported similar shortcomings. Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta claimed that the much larger city of Scranton is also collecting approximately $300,000 less than it collected in 2007.

Despite the misgivings of Graham and Nilles, the ordinance to reenact the EMS tax collections utilizing the same regulations as previous years passed by a 3-2 vote.

Barletta also expressed a discontent with the way in which the EMS as well as all Hazleton taxes are collected. He was the first person to link the EMS tax collection with the waste disposal tax collection.

“We have grown to the point where our tax base cannot cover the cost of providing services,” Barletta said. “I think it is time to bring in a collection agency to investigate our revenues. We can’t continue to exist like this.”

The idea of a collection agency’s services was met with mixed emotions. Council member Graham questioned whether such a service would cover its own cost in terms of money saved. There are no plans in place to employ the services of any tax agency.

Nilles brandished a list of approximately 200 residences from where there are no records of waste disposal payments being collected. The $84 fee is sent to all city units but certain properties can apply for exemptions.

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