Palmerton Area School District approved a 2.6 percent tax increase Tuesday night.

On an 8-1 vote, the board approved the 2015-16 budget with a 1.36-mill increase.Director Chuck Myers was opposed.After the meeting, Myers said he voted against the budget because he doesn't believe the public can afford a 1.36-mill increase."Those $50 (increases) every year, they add up," Myers said.At a board meeting last month, Myers voted against approving the proposed final 2015-16 budget with a 1.36-mill increase, stating that his preference was for a 0.75- to 1-mill increase.The $30,387,081 spending plan will raise the district's millage rate from 52.44 to 53.80 mills.The increased costs are pension benefits, due primarily to the Public School Employees Retirement System, and salaries, according to contracted costs.Business manager Matt Sawarynski said in January that benefits were up by 13.5 percent, or $870,000, while salaries were set to increase by 3.2 percent.He said at that time the district faces a $600,000 increase in the Public School Employees Retirement System, as well as a $250,000 increase for medical insurance.About $41,000 has been cut out of departmental budgets.The tax increase means that a person with a home valued at $100,000, which would be assessed at $50,000, will pay $68 more in property taxes to the district next year.Sawarynski said at a public budget meeting held last month in the high school auditorium that Gov. Tom Wolf's 2015-16 proposed budget calls for a $526,514 increase in special education and basic education funding.If that happens, Sawarynski said the district would still be faced with a $693,484 deficit, even with the 1.36-mill increase. A 1.36-mill increase would add $400,000 to local revenue, Sawarynski said.Last June, the board approved this year's budget with a 1.94 percent increase in the property tax rate. The board, after three separate votes, adopted the 2014-15 budget with a 1-mill increase.That budget called for a $28.6 million spending plan that raised the millage rate from 51.44 mills to 52.44 mills, and represented a $435,816 increase over the 2013-14 budget.Other businessIn other business, the board:• Approved the 2015-16 workers' compensation coverage through Highmark Insurance Group at an estimated cost of $99,523. The premium is based upon total payroll, and will be reconciled upon completion of the 2015-16 school year.• Approved the 2015-16 agreement with Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit 16 for computer services at a rate based on student enrollment and an estimated cost of $29,000.• Approved the athletic insurance coverage through Axis Insurance Company for the period of Aug. 14, 2015, to Aug. 14, 2016, at a cost of $34,706, with primary excess coverage over $100.• Approved voluntary student accident coverage through Axis Insurance Company for the period of Aug. 14, 2015, to Aug. 14, 2016, for a 24-hour wrap around rate of $75, benefits excluding all sports.• Approved the contract with Shop Specialties Inc for shop machinery maintenance for the 2015-16 school year at a cost of $1,400, plus any repair parts required throughout the school year.