Dec 19, 2016 By Luke Campbell 1 min read

For the first time since the county-wide reassessment in 2012, Mt. Lebanon commissioners approved a budget that includes a tax increase.

With the increase in 2017, passed unanimously by the commissioners, property owners will pay an additional $25 per year for every $100,000 of assessed value on a property to fund the municipality’s $32.1 million operating budget next year.

The commission is in the preliminary stages of a bond issuance process, which is expected to eclipse $8 million, to fund the two main projects highlight on the upcoming year’s budget: the public works facility upgrades and ice rink renovations at the nearly 40-year-old Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center.

Commission authorized municipal manager Keith McGill to retain PNC Capital Markets for the underwriting services and Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote for bond counsel services in November.

The municipality waited to do the bond issuance until 2017 to keep the debt capacity below $10 million of tax-exempt bonds to be considered a bank qualified debt.

A final vote by commissioners for the bond issuance is expected in the early stages of 2017.