For the sixth straight year, Palmerton residents will see no increase in their municipal tax rate next year.

Borough council unanimously agreed on Thursday to adopt the 2015 budget with no tax increase, which will leave the millage rate in check at 8.27 mills.For the owner of a home with a market value of $100,000, which would be assessed at $50,000, they will again pay $413.50 to the borough next year.Borough Manager Rodger Danielson briefly remarked on the budget, which totals expenditures in the amount of $5,759,627."I appreciate everybody's help with the budget," Danielson said. "Hopefully, we will see it through as we have in the past."As part of his prepared budget address, Danielson said next year's budget is a "cautious approach to maintaining the services and programs of the borough."Danielson added that no increases are proposed in any taxes or user fees, and that for the borough to continue to maintain, it must plan to move forward.""The municipal authority is studying possible construction of a new reservoir at the Sixth Street well field," he said. "They are also reviewing efficiencies of the industrial water system, which adds so much to our firefighting capabilities."Danielson added that this year's budget contains a portion for debt reduction, which will soon be used to begin another round of street overlays. The program done in the 1990s and early 2000s is reaching the end of its usable life and is in need of renewal, he said.He said, "the program will not be as extensive as previously done, as we will now need only to overlay the base that was put down before.""Years of water and sewer line repairs have taken their toll on otherwise structurally sound streets now in need of grooming," he said. "The borough will approach these repairs with the use of both Community Development Block Grant and local tax funds."Another matter Danielson mentioned was the park playground structures in the borough, which he said, "will have to be a focus for continuing years as we plan to replace aging components.""This year we will also look to replace some park maintenance equipment," he said. "We continue replacing service vehicles for our Public Works Departments in order to meet service needs."Danielson said, "2015 should be approached with caution and the belief that we are going to be able to meet our citizens' needs and expectations."Last year, council adopted this year's $5,359,227 spending plan, which marked the fifth consecutive year without a tax increase.The last time council raised taxes was in 2009, when it approved a 1.5-mill, or 19 percent, increase that raised the millage rate from 7.77 to 9.27 mills.Also, as part of that budget, residents saw a 10 percent increase in their water rates as well, which resulted in $1 more a month for a single person, and about $3.50 for a family of four.In 2010, residents actually saw a 1-mill reduction in their property tax rates, which lessened the millage rate from 9.27 to 8.27 mills. That meant the owner of a home with a market value of $100,000, which was assessed at $50,000, paid $413.50 in property taxes that year, down $50.50 from the $464 they paid in 2009. That budget did, however, call for a $10 increase in the monthly sewer rates.CDBG FundsAlso on Thursday, council conducted its second public hearing on Community Development Block Grant funding.Jennifer Hunsicker, from the Carbon County Office of Planning and Development, told council the borough will receive $93,057 for fiscal year 2014.Of that, Hunsicker said $76,307 is for project costs, while $16,750 will go to the county for administrative costs.The projects selected for fiscal year 2014 are public facilities, ADA handicap corners at Fifth and Sixth streets and Lehigh Avenue, as well as an emergency generator for the fire station at 508 Fifth St.