Lehighton residents appear poised for a municipal tax increase, but exactly how much remains to be determined.

Borough Manager Nicole Beckett reviewed next year's proposed budget with borough council at a special meeting on Thursday."It's a draft budget," Beckett said. "I need a lot of questions answered."One of the main topics of discussion pertained to whether the parking meters on First Street should be removed.Councilman Joe Flickinger said he was concerned with how taking the meters out could affect businesses.Beckett said, "The issue is the meters are not bringing in a lot of money, and they're old."Councilwoman Lisa Perry said a lot of the downtown businesses complain there's not enough parking in front of their businesses.There was also discussion about the potential hiring of another full-time police officer.It was noted that bringing on another full-timer would cost the borough $110,000 in wages and benefits.Councilman Scott Rehrig said that crime is on the rise, drugs are on the rise, and the only way to curtail it is to keep police on the streets.The demolition of blighted properties was also a primary discussion point.Rehrig said he believes the future of the borough is taking away some of the bad sites, and that if the borough wants to attract visitors, they have to improve the Sgt. Stanley Hoffman Boulevard and First Street."We're going to have to take a better stance on First Street than we are now," Rehrig said.Councilwoman Helen Torok agreed, adding, "I think we need to be aggressive on this."By the end of the meeting, the borough was looking at a potential 2.4-mill increase.However, council instructed Beckett to cut areas of the budget to reflect anywhere from a zero to 1.5-mill increase.Beckett said the goal is to adopt the proposed budget when council meets at 7 p.m. Nov. 21.In December, council approved this year's $4,350,133 spending plan without a tax increase, which left the tax rate in line at 7.5 mills.For a homeowner with a home valued at $100,000, which was assessed at $50,000, they again paid $375 to the borough this year in property taxes.The last time residents saw their municipal tax rate raised was in 2014, when council approved a 1-mill increase.