Trib: Laurels & Lances

Laurel: To Mt. Lebanon commissioners. At a time when most taxpayers are happy if taxes just don't go up and officials crow about merely holding that line, a tax decrease is worth celebrating. So kudos to Mt. Lebanon, where officials found ways to save enough on debt payments and health insurance to turn a proposed 0.48-mill tax hike into a 0.13-mill tax cut for 2011. Mt. Lebanon property owners' savings won't be big -- $26 on a house assessed at $200,000 -- but will be enough to make folks living elsewhere envious.

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• www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/s_714111.html (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

P-G: Mt. Lebanon approves tax decrease

Mt. Lebanon taxes will decrease slightly for residents after the commission passed a budget Monday night that lowers the real estate tax.

The commission voted 4-0 to pass the budget, which reduces the real estate tax rate from 4.89 mills to 4.76 mills. Commissioner Dan Miller was not present at the meeting.

The 2011 spending plan recommended by municipal Manager Steve Feller in November proposed increasing property taxes by 0.48 mills to fund the street reconstruction program.

Read the full article:

• www.post-gazette.com/pg/10348/1110636-55.stm (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)