ELECTION 2020: Mahanoy tentatively approves home rule charter
MAHANOY CITY – Mahanoy City voters narrowly approved adopting a home rule charter for the borough Tuesday, according to unofficial final results.
According to the results, released around 3:00am, 353 voters voted yes for the charter, while 344 voted no, a difference of nine voters.
Over 13,000 absentee and mail-in ballots were issued in Schuylkill County, and the election results still have to be ratified.
Should the unofficial results stand as final, Mahanoy City’s borough council will lose two positions, as well as the mayor’s office, in becoming the first home rule municipality in Schuylkill County. Additionally, the charter removes the earned income tax rate limit which, under normal circumstances, limits the tax rate to 1%. Under the Act 47 Financial Distress program, the limit is raised to 2%.
The additional percent accounts for 30% of revenue for general purposes, according to the home rule charter report.
The charter also limits annual tax revenue increases to 10%, unless a majority plus one vote by council occurs.
The home rule process was initiated last year by recommendation of the Pennsylvania Economy League, the Act 47 coordinator for the borough. The borough has been in the state’s Act 47 program since 2016, designating the borough a distressed municipality. At that time, Matt Domiles, with PEL, said in March of 2019 that the borough owed $800,000 on its bills, of a budget of $1.1 Million.
The full home rule charter can be read here:
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