BLOOMSBURG — Columbia County property tax bills will rise by 6.4 percent in 2018 so the county can plug a $600,000 budget deficit.

The county commissioners approved the .75 mill tax hike for the county’s $26.4 million budget for 2018 at a meeting Thursday.

Commissioner Rich Ridgway said the commissioners could have risked not raising taxes for 2018, but they would more than likely be looking at an even heftier tax hike in 2019.

Ridgway said if raising revenues becomes a necessity, he prefers raising in small, rather than larger increments, like the 10 percent increase commissioners approved in 2015 for 2016 spending.

2018 will mark the third year in a row the county has raised its property tax rate. For 2017, commissioners raised property taxes by a small amount — 1.25 percent – but many property owners actually saved on taxes because the county eliminated its $5 per capita tax on county residents. 

The tax hike for 2018 will raise the bill for a $100,000 home by about $19 to $317.

The bill for a $150,000 home will increase $29 to $475.