By adopting a Home Rule Charter, we can provide more fair ways to pay for the government services we all need, gain additional transparency into the budgeting process, give residents more opportunities to be heard, and ensure Lancaster City remains prosperous long into the future.
Without Home Rule, Lancaster City’s finances are stuck in 1965.
A lot has changed in the last 60 years. But how Lancaster City pays for services hasn’t.
State law only gives Lancaster City four (4) main ways to pay for the services it is legally obligated to provide. This menu of options hasn’t changed since 1965—nearly 60 years. And, three of these options are fixed by state law. This means Lancaster City can only rely on Property Taxes to pay for the services we all need every day, like fire, police, streets, and other quality of life services.
Real Estate
Transfer Tax
FROZEN BY STATE LAW
0.5%
Only paid when property is bought or sold.
Local
Services Tax
FROZEN BY STATE LAW
$47 PER YEAR
Only paid by people who work in Lancaster City.
Earned
Income Tax
FROZEN BY STATE LAW
0.6%
Only paid by people who live in Lancaster City.
Property
Tax
Only Locally
Controlled Tax
Only paid by property owners and indirectly by renters.
Property Taxes put a significant burden on homeowners and renters.
Increased Property Taxes leave seniors and lower income households at risk of losing their homes.
Property Taxes are based on assessed property values, which hardly ever increase. Between 2018–2023, assessed property values in Lancaster City increased just 1%. Over the same six-year period, the cost to provide existing services like fire, police, streets, and water to residents increased 25%. Since Property Tax is the only tax Lancaster City currently has the power to control, it is the only tool it has to balance the budget.
In addition, nearly a third of the properties in Lancaster City are exempt from paying property taxes. Though these properties, like churches, schools, and hospitals, improve our overall quality of life, they largely do not contribute to the cost burden they put on services the city provides. This leaves owners of taxable properties paying more than their fair share for services.
Lastly, landlords usually pass property tax increases along to tenants to ensure they keep their profits, leaving seniors and lower income households on the hook for higher housing costs, and at risk of losing their homes.
The Earned Income Tax is a better way to pay for services.
Unlike Property Taxes, the Earned Income Tax is a more fair way to pay for government services.
Why? Because the more you earn, the more you pay. At the same time, the less you earn, the less you pay. Plus, because the tax is only charged on earned income, retirees on Social Security and lower income households do not pay Earned Income Tax.
Unlike Property Taxes, revenue from the Earned Income Tax grows naturally over time as wages increase. The Earned Income Tax is a more equitable way to generate revenue to keep vital, life-saving services like fire and police protection at their current levels while also keeping streets clean, parks mowed, and trash removal running. This is only possible if Lancaster City adopts a Home Rule charter.
Why take action now?
It’s time to adopt a better way to pay for the essential services we all use.
Without a Home Rule charter, the city will need to significantly increase property taxes five out of the next ten years maintain current level of services. Or the city will need to cut services and eliminate jobs each year. Neither option is a sustainable path to ensuring our city thrives in the years to come.
However, a one-time change in the Earned Income Tax can generate enough revenue each year to keep the City financial stable for decades to come without additional increases in either Property Tax or Earned Income Tax rates.
Home Rule Works.
82 other Pennsylvania municipalities have adopted Home Rule since 1952.
Most other Pennsylvania cities—26 of them—have already adopted Home Rule Charters. These cities have been able to successfully use revenue sources other than Property Taxes to fund the essential quality of life services their residents rely on. And they’ve done so without frequently raising taxes.