By a 5-3 vote Tuesday night, Palmerton Area School District's board of directors approved a preliminary 2017-18 operating budget featuring a 1.25 mill tax increase for property owners.

The $32.37 million budget will be up for final adoption on June 20.Property taxes would increase by $53.75 for a homeowner with an average property assessment of $43,000, according to Business Manager Ryan Kish.Resident Steve Trainer urged the board to look for ways to cut expenses to avoid another tax increase."Since we purchased our property in 2006, taxes have gone up 39 percent or, in dollars for me, $1,800," Trainer said. "It seems excessive and puts a strain on my personal budget. I cut costs where I can and scale back on things, which lowers my quality of life."Last month, the majority of board members settled on a 1.25-mill increase, which is less than the 1.88-mill hike allowed by the state through its Act 1 index.Even with the proposed increase, the district would still need around $2 million from the fund balance to even things out.Charles Myers, Darlene Yeakel and Barry Scherer voted against the proposed budget on Tuesday."This is just a proposal at this point," Yeakel said. "This could change."Trainer agreed that the district should be run like a business, but said that also means looking for ways to cut expenses when times get tough.A very small percentage of the district's budget is flexible with most of it being locked-in costs such as salaries and benefits. As has the been case in recent years, the biggest cost driver for Palmerton's 2017-18 budget is the contribution to the Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System, up $276,613 from the 2016-17 budget.According to Kish, salary contributions will increase by $204,708; health care benefits by $296,668; the district's debt service by $94,709.Other increases include all-day kindergarten supplies; adding volleyball ($15,000), music instruments ($8,000), tax collector bonding ($7,000), and additional electric to support air conditioning in district buildings ($67,000).Raising taxes, however, Trainer added, looks like the easy way out."I believe, more often than not, it's less painful for boards to raise taxes than to cut costs," he said. "I think there should be an in-depth study to see how costs can be reduced. Many neighboring districts are holding the line on taxes by cutting costs and using fund balances."