"The electric contract was a rush to judgment," said [Harry McGonigal], who was in Texas during the meeting when the rate hike was adopted.

Now, McGonigal added, he's been seeing rates "floating around" online at $69 to $70 per megawatt-hour.

Perkasie last increased taxes in 2006, when the rate went up by 53 percent, from 3.75 to 5.75 mills. A mill is a tax of $1 on every $1,000 of a property's assessed value. For a borough home assessed at $30,000, property taxes would be $172.50.