Hanover Area agrees to keep lid on taxes

HANOVER TWP. – Hanover Area School District residents are guaranteed to see a property tax hike no higher than 2.4 percent this fall.

At a brief special meeting Thursday with President Evelyn Evans absent, the School Board voted unanimously to stay within that increase, known as the Act 1 Index.

The state law known as Act 1 promised to use money from legalized gambling to reduce school property taxes for homeowners. As part of that law, the state restricts how much local property taxes can increase each year. A district may exceed the limit only through voter approval or by applying for limited exceptions from the state.

By agreeing to stay within the index, which can vary from district to district and year to year, Hanover Area School Board has more time to draw up a preliminary budget. Districts that plan to exceed the limit must have a preliminary budget in February; those that pass resolutions to stick to the limit have until the end of May.

Final budgets must be approved by June 30.

Agreeing to stick to the limit does not mean taxes will rise by 2.4 percent in Hanover Area. The board could have any tax increase up to the limit, or no increase at all.

The tax resolution was the only action taken at the meeting, which originally had been scheduled for Monday but was postponed due to inclement weather.