It’s official: Palmerton will hold the line on taxes next year.

Borough council adopted the 2020 budget Thursday, unanimously agreeing to keep the current millage rate at 11.77 mills.

Council did move half a mill from the borough’s debt reduction fund to its general one to cover some projects in town — like tree cutting, street paving and parking lot restorations — but the undertakings will not bring about a tax increase for residents.

“We have several items of improvement that our borough manager Donna McGarry has come up with, and I’d like to thank Donna and the office staff for coming up with a balanced budget,” Councilman Kris Hoffner, who also chairs the finance committee, said.

While Palmerton may be keeping its taxes steady next year, it’s a different story for Carbon County overall.

The over $64 million budget proposed by county commissioners late last month featured a 2-mill increase in real estate taxes, raising the rate to 12.25. Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said the hike is necessary to meet the burgeoning costs Carbon faces.