Newport Borough Council approved a 2026 budget during a special Nov. 24 meeting.
In doing so, a previous statement was corrected about the dedicated fire tax. It had been stated that the fire tax was exempt from the revenue neutrality required of reassessment, meaning the old millage rate of 0.361 would remain unchanged. However, that was incorrect, and as such the new fire millage rate is 0.191. That is based on the new aggregate assessed value of the borough ($99,492,100), up from $52,760,100 in the previous assessment. The borough’s municipal millage rate adjusts from 3.95 to 2.42.
Council determined it could set the rate by resolution as opposed to ordinance since even though the rate was changing, it was not rising. The decision was made after Councilwoman Tami Halstead read Section 1310.1 of the Pennsylvania Borough Code, provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Boroughs…