LEWISBURG — Real estate taxes are being appealed, and people are winning, East Buffalo Township Supervisor Lawson Fetterman said during a candidates’ forum Wednesday night. “It’s going to be tough.”

Fetterman was responding to the question, “Do you have plans to hold down tax hikes?”

Each candidate had an opportunity to answer. Sharing the dais with Fetterman was his opponent, Tom Zorn. Also in attendance were Kelly Township Supervisor David Hassenplug and his challenger, William Sanders, and Tim Hoffman, a write-in candidate for a seat representing the 3rd Ward on the Lewisburg Borough Council. Incumbent Councilman Peter Bergonia Jr. did not attend.

Fetterman and Hassenplug are Republicans, and Zorn and Sanders are Democrats. Hoffman has not listed a party affiliation.

Sixteen Bucknell University students attended to support Hoffman, a Bucknell senior who started his campaign promising to repair strained relations between the town and the university.

About 70 people filled the Union County Government Building meeting room, where the League of Women Voters’ forum was held. League President Sue Travis said it was a slightly larger crowd that usual for a nonpresidential election year.

On the tax question, Zorn said he’d work to encourage commercial growth, so the tax burden would not weigh so heavily on residential property.

Hassenplug said it’s getting more difficult not to raise taxes. Sanders said Kelly Township’s loss of commercial base means there’s no way to promise no tax hikes.

Hoffman said he was pleased the borough manager proposed a budget without a tax increase this year and said the key to holding taxes down is a steadily growing tax base. He said it doesn’t help when Bucknell buys property that then becomes tax-exempt.

In response to a question about dissolving municipal government in favor of Union County control, all the candidates voiced disapproval, saying the more local the better. But all agreed some kind of regional police cooperation is a good idea, even Hassenplug, whose board opted out of the regional plan being worked on between East Buffalo and Lewisburg. He opened the door a bit.

“At this point, we’re waiting to see how it develops,” he said. “The opportunity will be there to join the regional force. If we decide not to, we can remain served by the Pennsylvania State Police.

Fetterman said local policing is possibly the largest line item in the township budget.

People also wanted to know about road maintenance.

Zorn has said East Buffalo has been missing opportunities to widen roads to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians when it resurfaces.

Fetterman said flatly: “We will never catch up with quality roads.” With money tight, he said, the township can’t do as much as it did 5 or 10 years ago.