Lawrence, Mercer voters reject Act 1 tax referendums

Some residents would have paid more taxes if Act 1 had passed.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Voters in every school district in Lawrence and Mercer counties turned down Act 1 referendums which would have shifted some of the support for local school districts from property to earned income taxes.
Act 1 is the latest effort of the state Legislature to provide property tax relief.
It allowed voters to decide whether to provide a Homestead property tax exemption to homeowners and then make up the lost revenue by raising the district's earned income tax.
Voters in the 24 school districts in the two counties voted down the measure, in many cases by a 2-to-1 margin.
Joseph Ambrosini, business manager for the New Castle schools, said he thinks the referendum failed by a wide margin in his district because anyone who made 30,000 or more annually would have paid even more taxes if it passed.
This "break-even point" varied by district.
He added he was surprised, however, that it failed by a large margin because senior citizens on fixed incomes would have been the "big winners" and paid fewer taxes if the referendum had passed.
He said he expected more support for Act 1 because senior citizens traditionally vote heavily.
Effect on individuals' taxes
Mohawk School District Superintendent Dr. Timothy McNamee said he thinks residents in his district voted against the referendum after calculating its effect on their taxes.
In the Mohawk district, anyone with an income of 25,000 or more would have paid more school taxes if the referendum passed.
He said the district worked hard to make the public aware of the provisions of Act 1 by articles on its Web site and in its newsletter and through public meetings.
McNamee said he believes that Pennsylvania needs some type of property tax relief for senior citizens but said he doesn't think Act 1 was the best solution.
He said he hopes the state's lawmakers will come up with another idea to help those on fixed incomes.