It’s likely that Tamaqua borough taxpayers will see a slight bump in their 2023 tax bills, an amount that will allow the borough to hire another full-time police officer.

Council added a 0.25-mill increase to the budget, which was tentatively adopted Tuesday evening.

The jump amounts to about $13 more per year for the average taxpayer, and will allow the police department to function with nine full-timers who will provide coverage around the clock.

Although most council members said they didn’t want to burden residents with an increase, the vote to prepare the resolution setting the 2023 real estate tax rate at 23.75 mills passed unanimously.

The budget, which will be advertised before it is adopted next month, also includes 22.15 mills for general purposes, 1 mill for the building and equipment fund, 0.25 mill for the Wabash Improvement Fund and 0.10 mill for the Street Light Fund.

“For the first time I think probably in a few years, it looks like we are able to end the year on a just a very small, a very small surplus,” Council President Brian Connely said.

With that in mind, Connely said, council could roll over the surplus and not increase taxes.

“We also have an opportunity to put another full-time police officer on staff which would bring us to what we were normally as far as shift count. Obviously, that comes at a cost,” he said.

Police Chief Michael Hobbs said to continue providing the 24-hour coverage residents expect, the department needs nine full-timers.

It has eight officers, and had been using three part-time officers and paying overtime to fill the schedule. It recently lost one part-time officer.

“There is nothing making them stay here at this department. As soon as they leave, it opens huge gaps in our schedule to cover,” Hobbs said. “We are a 24-hour department. We need that manpower. We need to lock somebody in.”

Those with full-time employment, he said, would be more committed to the borough.

“You can’t depend on part-timers,” Hobbs said. “Nobody has any part-timers anymore. If we can lock into a full-time guy that says, ‘Hey, I want to commit to this borough, I want to commit to this town,’ we need to do that.”

After some discussion, council voted unanimously to adopt and advertise the 2023 budget to include a ninth officer.

Members originally discussed raising taxes by 0.5 mill but then decided to move 0.25 mill from the Wabash fund to the police hiring.

“It is not an easy decision for any of us but it is a decision we have to make,” Connely said.