Councilman Matt Herndon
@mattherndon.org
Father, bike rider, and State College Borough Council Member focused on safer streets, housing affordability, sustainability, and including all who want to live here.
Views expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the full council.
Views expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the full council.
Inclusive zoning stops pushing new housing miles away onto farms and wild lands and instead allows new neighbors to join us and share the costs local services. I hope you’ll join me in working to #zoning reform to build a more affordable, sustainable, bikeable, walkable, and inclusive State College.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Inclusive zoning stops pushing new housing miles away onto farms and wild lands and instead allows new neighbors to join us and share the costs local services. I hope you’ll join me in working to #zoning reform to build a more affordable, sustainable, bikeable, walkable, and inclusive State College.
Allowing people to live near where they're headed every day is also key for #sustainability. It reduces the distance people have to drive each day and enables more to walk or bike instead. Modern code also produces buildings that require far less energy to heat and cool than most older homes here.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Allowing people to live near where they're headed every day is also key for #sustainability. It reduces the distance people have to drive each day and enables more to walk or bike instead. Modern code also produces buildings that require far less energy to heat and cool than most older homes here.
We cannot add new assessed value infinitely, but there are thousands of people who commute here every day right now. It seems like our restrictive zoning is the main thing preventing some of these people from actually moving here and shortening their commutes. We don't have to keep pushing them out.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
We cannot add new assessed value infinitely, but there are thousands of people who commute here every day right now. It seems like our restrictive zoning is the main thing preventing some of these people from actually moving here and shortening their commutes. We don't have to keep pushing them out.
Major municipal expenses, like our road network, don’t really increase with population. Where would a new road even be built here? Allowing more people to live here allows the cost to maintain these things to be split more ways and cost less per person overall. Strong Towns explains this well.
How to #DoTheMath for Non-Math Majors | Strong Towns
You don’t have to be a math wizard to figure out if your town or city has more infrastructure than it can afford. Just follow these 5 simple steps.
www.strongtowns.org
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Major municipal expenses, like our road network, don’t really increase with population. Where would a new road even be built here? Allowing more people to live here allows the cost to maintain these things to be split more ways and cost less per person overall. Strong Towns explains this well.
It’s good to have careful deliberation on zoning, but the world keeps turning. I hope the reality of inflation clarifies how important it is to get zoning done. I encourage anyone who feels the same to contact all of council, either at a public meeting or in an email to sccouncil@statecollegepa.us.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
It’s good to have careful deliberation on zoning, but the world keeps turning. I hope the reality of inflation clarifies how important it is to get zoning done. I encourage anyone who feels the same to contact all of council, either at a public meeting or in an email to sccouncil@statecollegepa.us.
Unfortunately our zoning timeline has been delayed yet again after Council spent a lot of time rehashing things in our last zoning meeting on 10/20/25. With the budget due soon we don't yet know when we'll discuss it next, but I'll keep pushing for us to get it done.
10/22/25 State College Borough Council
videoplayer.telvue.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Unfortunately our zoning timeline has been delayed yet again after Council spent a lot of time rehashing things in our last zoning meeting on 10/20/25. With the budget due soon we don't yet know when we'll discuss it next, but I'll keep pushing for us to get it done.
If a previous council had updated zoning to allow more building years ago, the increased assessed value could reduce the need to raise taxes now, but that didn’t happen and we can’t change the past. We can work towards a better future by updating our zoning as soon as possible though.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
If a previous council had updated zoning to allow more building years ago, the increased assessed value could reduce the need to raise taxes now, but that didn’t happen and we can’t change the past. We can work towards a better future by updating our zoning as soon as possible though.
Our inflation adjusted spending is relatively flat even with new buildings. The main issue is that inflation has grown faster than we’ve added assed value and thus we’ve had to increase our tax rate to keep up. The ARPA funds helped us limit these increases for a few years, but that time is over.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Our inflation adjusted spending is relatively flat even with new buildings. The main issue is that inflation has grown faster than we’ve added assed value and thus we’ve had to increase our tax rate to keep up. The ARPA funds helped us limit these increases for a few years, but that time is over.
Every time a new building is constructed here it increases our total assessed value. As long as that building is owned by a taxable entity and not a tax exempt Church/Gov/School then it increases the value we multiply our property tax rate by, allowing a lower tax rate to generate the same revenue.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Every time a new building is constructed here it increases our total assessed value. As long as that building is owned by a taxable entity and not a tax exempt Church/Gov/School then it increases the value we multiply our property tax rate by, allowing a lower tax rate to generate the same revenue.
The latest draft of the zoning update we're working on allows housing on the 2nd floor in downtown. That would increase our property tax and add new housing in buildings that already exist. @justineunderhill.bsky.social explains how this housing can help us all beyond simply increasing our tax base.
What Luxury Housing Does To Homelessness
YouTube video by Justine Underhill
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
The latest draft of the zoning update we're working on allows housing on the 2nd floor in downtown. That would increase our property tax and add new housing in buildings that already exist. @justineunderhill.bsky.social explains how this housing can help us all beyond simply increasing our tax base.
The fastest way to get these floors built out seems to be allowing housing in them. I value a vibrant streetscape and thus don’t support this for the ground floor, but the 2nd story was originally dreamed to become office space, and that dream is being dashed on the rocks of our WFH reality.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
The fastest way to get these floors built out seems to be allowing housing in them. I value a vibrant streetscape and thus don’t support this for the ground floor, but the 2nd story was originally dreamed to become office space, and that dream is being dashed on the rocks of our WFH reality.
Some have suggested unbuilt high rise floors reduce the amount of tax these buildings owe and that is true. They've suggested a vacancy fee to push building these floors, but it doesn't seem like PA state law gives us that power (in PA all local powers must be explicitly granted by the State).
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Some have suggested unbuilt high rise floors reduce the amount of tax these buildings owe and that is true. They've suggested a vacancy fee to push building these floors, but it doesn't seem like PA state law gives us that power (in PA all local powers must be explicitly granted by the State).
Without them we would have to have a much higher tax rate. Staff presented a calculation on this 12:30 into our 10/8 work session. If these 4 high-rises hadn't been built it'd need to be 15% higher to bring in the same revenue. And that tax revenue didn't even cover our full spending for 2024!
10/8/25 State College Borough Council Work Session
videoplayer.telvue.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Without them we would have to have a much higher tax rate. Staff presented a calculation on this 12:30 into our 10/8 work session. If these 4 high-rises hadn't been built it'd need to be 15% higher to bring in the same revenue. And that tax revenue didn't even cover our full spending for 2024!
For example the top 4 property tax payers in the borough in 2024 were all student high-rises, in 2026 the 2 new oLiv buildings will make it top 6. Their tax payments do not get reduced by the homestead tax exemption like those of homeowners and thus provide a significant portion or our tax revenue.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
For example the top 4 property tax payers in the borough in 2024 were all student high-rises, in 2026 the 2 new oLiv buildings will make it top 6. Their tax payments do not get reduced by the homestead tax exemption like those of homeowners and thus provide a significant portion or our tax revenue.
During our work updating our zoning over the past 8 years a few people have repeatedly suggested that it would be better if all student housing was built and owned by the university, or built further out in neighboring municipalities. Neither of these options would add to our property tax base.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
During our work updating our zoning over the past 8 years a few people have repeatedly suggested that it would be better if all student housing was built and owned by the university, or built further out in neighboring municipalities. Neither of these options would add to our property tax base.
As the Manager noted "About 45% of our property is tax exempt." Some have asked which properties this describes. To be clear land and buildings owned by schools here are tax exempt, along with churches and government owned properties. This is federal law and I don't think Council can change it.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
As the Manager noted "About 45% of our property is tax exempt." Some have asked which properties this describes. To be clear land and buildings owned by schools here are tax exempt, along with churches and government owned properties. This is federal law and I don't think Council can change it.
So how do we increase tax revenue here long term without increasing the tax burden on individual members of our community? To me the answer is clear, allow more neighbors to share the load. We can do this by updating our zoning to stop legally preventing most new housing from being built here.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
So how do we increase tax revenue here long term without increasing the tax burden on individual members of our community? To me the answer is clear, allow more neighbors to share the load. We can do this by updating our zoning to stop legally preventing most new housing from being built here.
Cutting municipal services every time inflation rises will eventually create a community with decaying infrastructure, but costs that still rise with inflation every year. At some point that infrastructure will break and the town will either go bankrupt or find a bailout. We shouldn't head that way.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Cutting municipal services every time inflation rises will eventually create a community with decaying infrastructure, but costs that still rise with inflation every year. At some point that infrastructure will break and the town will either go bankrupt or find a bailout. We shouldn't head that way.
Discussions on what exactly to cut, if anything, will play out in council over the coming weeks. I urge concerned community members to look through our budget and provide input if they have it. Anything we cut will be a short term fix though and I continue to say that we must focus on the long term.
Budget Information Center | State College, PA - Official Website
The Budget Information Center is your one-stop-shop to follow the budget process from beginning to end.
www.statecollegepa.us
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Discussions on what exactly to cut, if anything, will play out in council over the coming weeks. I urge concerned community members to look through our budget and provide input if they have it. Anything we cut will be a short term fix though and I continue to say that we must focus on the long term.
Public works is the other big potential area for cuts. I've proposed replacing costly car infrastructure with cheaper bike infra, but that'll will take years to play out. In the present I haven’t heard anyone ask for have more potholes and rougher roads here to avoid a tax increase.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Public works is the other big potential area for cuts. I've proposed replacing costly car infrastructure with cheaper bike infra, but that'll will take years to play out. In the present I haven’t heard anyone ask for have more potholes and rougher roads here to avoid a tax increase.
I support State Rep. Mike Sturla's old proposal that Pennsylvania municipalities that rely on State Police coverage instead of local law enforcement officers pay an annual fee because it makes things more fair. But it seems unlikely to pass anytime soon and won’t help our local budget.
www.pahouse.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
I support State Rep. Mike Sturla's old proposal that Pennsylvania municipalities that rely on State Police coverage instead of local law enforcement officers pay an annual fee because it makes things more fair. But it seems unlikely to pass anytime soon and won’t help our local budget.
Some have called on us to defund our police. And it is true that over half of municipalities in PA (largely rural ones) don't fund their local police. They instead rely entirely on State Police leading to worse response times risking safety. I don’t think most people in State College want that.
Why a rural PA township disbanded its police force
Sweden Township in Potter County joined a growing list of Pennsylvania municipalities that rely on State Police for full-time law enforcement coverage.
www.spotlightpa.org
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Some have called on us to defund our police. And it is true that over half of municipalities in PA (largely rural ones) don't fund their local police. They instead rely entirely on State Police leading to worse response times risking safety. I don’t think most people in State College want that.
To really cut our costs we'd need to look at our biggest expenses, not our smallest. Our two largest fund expense areas are police and public works streets ($14.2M and $13.8M of our $73.4M fund expense total respectively). But does it make sense to cut these services?
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
To really cut our costs we'd need to look at our biggest expenses, not our smallest. Our two largest fund expense areas are police and public works streets ($14.2M and $13.8M of our $73.4M fund expense total respectively). But does it make sense to cut these services?
Some have suggested we cut services. The main direct call for spending cuts I’ve seen is from a handful of people who want us to cut our DEI program. Our DEI fund expenses are less the 0.5% of our annual budget. It's not a major cost and has the support of far more than 0.5% of our population.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Some have suggested we cut services. The main direct call for spending cuts I’ve seen is from a handful of people who want us to cut our DEI program. Our DEI fund expenses are less the 0.5% of our annual budget. It's not a major cost and has the support of far more than 0.5% of our population.
Given the difficulties a lot of people faced during COVID I think it was good to limit tax increases then, but now the ARPA funds are done and we are left with a tough choice. Do we cut services, increase taxes, or find new revenue sources to keep up with inflation?
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Given the difficulties a lot of people faced during COVID I think it was good to limit tax increases then, but now the ARPA funds are done and we are left with a tough choice. Do we cut services, increase taxes, or find new revenue sources to keep up with inflation?