Local taxpayers breathed a loud sigh of relief at the end of 2020 when they learned that county and municipal taxes in the five-county Times News region will either remain steady or rise modestly,

Given the financial challenges anticipated because of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, municipal leaders were fearing the worst about midway through 2020.

With budgetary projections thrown out the window for that unusual year, those tasked with preparing county and municipal budgets were wondering how they would make up for the shortfall of taxes and whether they would have to sock it to their residents.

Thankfully, none of this dread and woe materialized for a variety of reasons, but most budget planners caution that we are not out of the woods yet, because 2021 is shaping up to be as volatile as 2020 when it comes to forecasting.

Concerns in putting together this year’s budget centered on tax revenue. With so many workers who have lost their jobs, municipalities were staring at major gaps in their portion of the earned income tax that is shared with their local school districts. Zero income means zero taxes.

Delayed real estate tax payments added to the problem. Municipalities and counties gave taxpayers who lost their jobs because of the pandemic a grace period to get their taxes paid without penalty. Some were ultimately able to pay; others were not and may incur penalties as the clock clicked to 2021.

A flurry of real estate activity, especially in communities such as Penn Forest Township in Carbon County, sent the 1% real estate transfer tax revenue soaring. A second Poconos boom, reminiscent of the one in the ’70s, has been underway now that many can work from home because of the pandemic rather than commute to New York and northern New Jersey.

They took this as their cue to relocate to tax-friendlier and less populated climates. What can be tax-friendlier than Penn Forest Township, which is the only area community without a real estate tax?

A sampling of tax action throughout our area shows:

In Carbon, Jim Thorpe has the highest real estate tax increase for 2021 at 2.56 mills; Lansford and Palmerton boroughs are increasing the rate by 1 mill each, while Bowmanstown, Lehighton and Summit Hill boroughs and East Penn, Franklin and Kidder townships passed budgets with no real estate tax hikes.

In Schuylkill, Coaldale passed a half-mill increase, while Tamaqua borough and Rush Township had no increase.

County taxes were not raised in Carbon, Schuylkill, Monroe, Northampton and Lehigh counties.

I want to emphasize that the value of a mill is not uniform in all counties. It all depends on the percentage of property assessment, which varies significantly from county to county

Some communities tightened their belts by freezing hiring, even laying off some nonessential employees. An unusually mild winter with only about 5 inches of snow allowed municipalities to bank much of the snow-removal costs that had been budgeted. Some municipalities have delayed capital projects until better times.

When it comes to real estate taxes, counties and municipalities make up just two-thirds of the equation. Next comes the biggie - school taxes.

School districts don’t officially complete their budgets for the following school year until June 30. As all business managers and superintendents will tell you, the budget-building process is a year-round challenge even in a so-called “good” year.

You can only imagine what districts are going through to construct a realistic budget to get them through the 2021-22 school year. It will require a lot of juggling, just as it did for the current year, which still has more than five months to go.

There are so many variables at work, including whether students are taught in the classroom, virtually or a combination of both, known as hybrid learning. How the district operates will impact the transportation and food services budgets.

Residents have been sounding off about what they consider onerous real estate taxes that just seem to be going up, up, up in many of our school districts. Of course, the big-ticket items, especially for full-time salaries and benefits primarily for professional and support staff, remain untouchable contractually, although some part-time support and custodial staff have been furloughed for the time being.

Financial analysts say that even under ideal circumstances, creating an annual budget is a crapshoot because of uncertainties and surprise events. Since we have never even remotely encountered any disruption such as a dangerous worldwide pandemic in our lifetime, trying to forecast budgetary goals under these conditions is like trying to pin the tail on the donkey, blindfolded, of course.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com