Tamaqua residents are facing a potential 1 mill increase in taxes this year.

The first look at the 2015 budget came at Tuesday night's regular meeting. Although borough manager Kevin Steigerwalt did not include a tax increase in the proposal, the bottom line of the general fund came up $242,249 short.Councilman Brian Connely proposed the 1 mill increase, however, the motion initially died for lack of a second."We have a deficit budget every year," said Councilman Tom Cara. "We're borrowing funds from other funds to pay the bills now. It's a dangerous path to go down."Cara did not approve of the proposed tax increase, however, calling it a "very testy issue." Cara also said he saw "no way to change the budget."Connely explained that cuts have been made where they can be made, citing recent collective bargaining agreements with the UAW and the police, and savings were realized where possible, such as decreasing the borough's debt service, but said, "if we're not willing to cut costs, then we need to be willing to cut services."Mayor Christian Morrision was also hesitant to support a tax increase, but asked "how do you support a team out there to run what amounts to a business when you start out a quarter-million dollars in the red?" He also pointed out that even with an additional mill in tax revenue, there was still a $170,000 shortfall.At least one resident raised concerns about the proposed tax hike. Pat Dougherty asked what the borough is doing about collecting delinquent taxes, citing instances where individuals and businesses may own in excess of $100,000. Dougherty added that the additional funds would put a hardship on many seniors who are on fixed incomes, as well as be off-putting to those looking to grow the community. "You can't hit them over the head and pound them into the ground," she said.A proposal to adopt the budget and accompanying tax ordinance as initially written, with no increase also died for lack of a second. Connely submitted his original motion, including the 1 mill increase again and this time, it received a second from Councilman David Mace. The motion carried 4-2, with Connely, Mace, council President Micah Gursky, and Councilman Dan Evans voting for it and Cara and Councilwoman Kerry Dowd-Lasky voting against it.The final proposed budget that will be advertised includes a total of $9,086,916 in expenditures. The initial estimated revenue in Steigerwalt's budget was $8,726,940 across all funds. Steigerwalt said he has not gotten the estimate from the county yet, but figures the millage for 2015 to be approximately the same as this year, with 1 mill generating approximately $70,000. The proposed budget includes 18.25 mills for the general fund, 1 mill for the building and equipment fund, and 0.5 mill for the Wabash Improvement fund.