An early Lehighton Area School District budget proposal shows no increase in property taxes for the third consecutive year.

If the proposal for no tax increase holds until June, the district's mills would remain at 47.88."Part of our five-year plan was to decrease the fund balance and use it to offset operating expenses," Lehighton Business Manager Brian Feick said. "As buildings were renovated and infrastructure upgraded, we would need less in reserve to cover unexpected failures and repairs."Lehighton is in the midst of a major building program having within the last two years approved a $6.3 million stadium upgrade, $25.7 million in renovations at the middle and high schools, and $33 million for the construction of a K-5 elementary center on the district's main campus.The changes at the high school and middle school, which centered around heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system upgrades, are already paying dividends.While it has been hard to quantify thus far, the cost for energy in the two buildings has gone down thanks to switches and the addition of LED lighting, Feick said.The McClure Company installed a four-pipe central heat pump system in the schools for $7.72 million.Because it's an energy savings, or ESCO, project, McClure is guaranteeing the district more than $80,000 per year in utility savings."We have only used a third of the gas we used last year," Feick said. "But the weather has been a little better. The ESCO contract guarantees us at least an $80,000 a year savings for the two schools. I have a feeling that the savings on a normal year will be double that amount."In another bit of positive financial news, Lehighton recently signed a service extension agreement with UGI Energy Services to provide natural gas for the elementary center, and the tapping fee came in under budget.Feick said the district budgeted up to $150,000 for the expense, with the final fee coming in at $50,343.Feick said he did not budget for an increase in state funding in 2017-18."We always have to put a budget together before the state presents their budget, and we have to pass one before they do," he said. "In the past couple of years the state has not decreased funding, and from what I hear they will try to maintain what was given in the previous year."The district unanimously voted last week to stay within its Act 1 index for 2017-18, meaning it could not increase property taxes by more than 3.4 percent, an amount determined by the state through a formula.