The Streak has different meanings, wherever you go. Some bad, some good. To Philly sports fans, it was 25 years without a major professional championship. In Chicago, it's been 100 Octobers since the Cubs won the World Series. Cincinnati's Pete Rose hit safely in 44 straight games. Ken Jennings had 74 consecutive wins on Jeopardy. But all Streaks eventually come to an end (though try telling that to Cubs fans, or QCSD taxpayers). And so it will be in Richland Township. And Haycock. And Richlandtown.
Flash back to 1990. East and West Germany were re-united. Roseanne and The Cosby Show were among the most popular TV shows. Bonnie Raitt and MC Hammer had best-selling albums. Randall Cunningham was the MVP of the NFL. The Dow topped 3000 for the first time, median household income was $30,000, a first-class stamp was a quarter, and a gallon of gas cost $1.16. Oil prices hit $31/barrell, the highest since 1985.
99.99% of all students in QCSD today hadn't yet been born. And Richland Township enacted its last general tax increase. Since then, the Consumer Price Index has risen over 67 percent, and Richland's population has increased by about 50 percent. Yet local taxes remained unchanged, and residents currently enjoy the sixth lowest rate out of Bucks County's 54 municipalities, 2.5 mils. Among towns with their own police force, Richland is second lowest.
Supervisor Chairman Craig Staats cites professional budgeting procedures, astute investments, proper planning, cost controls, and managed growth: "Although the courts severely limited the power of municipalities to restrict development, we made the best of the situation. Hard negotiations with developers brought contributions of cash, land, and infrastructure improvements, including traffic controls, parks, playgrounds, and trails, crowned by the new state-of-the-art Veterans Park. We are the only town in Bucks to start up its own police force. And, for 19 years, taxpayers didn't pay a dime extra."
In fact, that resident-pleasin' Streak probably would have reached 20 years, or more, if everyone else had been as financially responsible. Blame the W's: Washington. Wall Street. The World. And, of course, the W in the White House. As the market for both new, and existing, houses deteriorates, Richland, like every other town, is experiencing declining revenue from real estate transfer taxes. During the first six months of 2008, Richland's transfer income fell almost $100,000. This, in turn, reduced the Fund Balance reserves, leading to decreased investment income, which is a vital part of keeping taxes low, and credit rating high.
Nationally, for the first time in at least 20 years, three major sources of municipal revenue - income tax, investment income, and property taxes - are all down. Throw in higher expenses, and you have the Taxpayers' Perfect Storm. Something has to give - and it will be you. After 19 years, there is just no alternative. The Streak is over. But Supervisor Rick Orloff, whose expertise as a CPA dealing in municipal finance has been a big factor in the low-tax growth, explained that it is vital that the township still continue it's "value-added" projects. Those niceties that drew folks to this area in the first place, and constantly renew Richland as a better place to live. They are the reason that property values here soared for two decades. These will include a 110-acre "trail connected" park to serve hundreds of families in the Station Road corridor, projects to improve traffic flow and safety, and continued excellent local police coverage. And, when the economy eventually improves, a long-planned, more efficient, data-connected township building, with much-needed public meeting rooms for community groups like seniors, sports clubs, and scouting.
The good news: Unlike QCSD, which has its own Streak of raising taxes every year since the discovery of fire, Orloff sees the 2009 Richland increase as one-and-done. "The final number is yet to be determined, but we will still need to get to about 7-8 mils, placing us in the middle of Bucks County. The typical homeowner will see a property tax increase between $150 and $175 in 2009. But long-term, we have about $3.5 million in developer contributions waiting. We will save about $200,000 on debt service annually after the police building is fully paid. If we do this right - and I believe we will - Richland will go another generation without an increase, as we gravitate back to the lowest five or six towns in Bucks."
Richland's Streak is not the only one ending. Richlandtown, with just one employee, and a comparatively tiny budget, has not upped taxes since 1978, but now needs to raise more than $300,000 to improve the water system. And Haycock, which has actually lowered property taxes over the past 46 years, will now have to double them from 1.25 to 2.5 mils. Supervisor Henry DePue echoed the plight of other towns: "The cost of everything is going up. We had an increase of $10,000 just for our salt contract. We must update our sewage plan. Due to the price of oil, we had to reduce the miles of roads that we maintain. Our Earned Income Tax revenues are flat. We can't continue this way and dig ourselves in a hole."
Because almost half of Haycock is covered by State Game Lands, Nockamixon State Park, and Lake Tohee, the tax base is very low. But it still suffers the same Streak-busting maladies. HT issued only one new home building permit this year. Existing home sales decreased. Employees got no pay raises in 2006 or 2008. And even with a tax increase, the township still had to reduce many items in the 2009 budget. But two towns are still Streaking. Trumbauersville used its last increase, 3 mils in 1994, to pay off a $1.2 million loan 6 years early. Quakertown, which has lowered taxes twice since 1972, will not increase them for 2009, but gets an asterisk. They have kept pace with rising costs by increasing sewer, water, and electric fees.
If only QCSD could handle its finances as well as the towns that it comprises.