35% tax hike approved as Collier commissioners adopt 2026 budget

Property owners in Collier will be seeing a 35% increase in their real estate taxes next year.

Commissioners on Monday, Dec. 15, voted 3-1 to adopt the township’s 2026 budget which sets the real estate tax rate at 5 mills, a 1.3-mill increase.

A homeowner at Collier’s median assessed property value of $151,100 will pay $755 annually, an increase of $196.

Commissioners Mary Ann Cupples-Wisniowski, Karianne Suter and Dawnlee Vaughn voted in favor of the budget. Gabriel Benevenuti voted against it, and President Wayne Chiurazzi was absent.

A 1.3-mill increase will generate an additional $1.43 million in revenue, according to the township.

A statement from the commissioners read that “all expenses are directly supporting efforts to enhance our parks, infrastructure, safety and recreation needs.”

“Residents have repeatedly asked for increases in public safety (police, fire and EMS,) infrastructure, (road improvements and maintenance,) more and better recreational options (more access to pickleball courts and child play equipment) and additional ballfields (baseball, tee ball, girls softball)” the statement said.

$440,000 is allotted for preliminary work toward the development of additional ballfields. Manager George Macino said the township has not finalized the funding for the project. Township officials have said previously that the project is to accommodate growth and should not exceed $8 million.

“We are working through our grant writer for grants,” Macino said. “We also are looking for sponsorships to help offset the costs of what’s going on with not just the ballfields but our parks in general.”

Of the residents who spoke at the Dec. 15 meeting, three questioned some of the planned expenses, including how many township residents the ballfield project would actually benefit. They suggested more responsible spending and management of township finances and better transparency of the township’s trash fee.

Tim Young, a former commissioner, told the board he’d like to see the township’s debt reduced before moving forward with other expenses.

“Be careful how you spend your money,” Young said. “… I want baseball fields, I just want to pay it after we paid off our debts.”

Two people spoke in favor of the ballfield project, saying the township’s youth population is growing and that the current fields are in poor or unplayable condition.

“We moved here for the community, because it’s a great community and we want it to be better,” said Mark Fiorilli, who is also a member of the Chartiers Valley School Board. “You want to leave it better than how you arrived at it, and that’s how I want it to be for my kids.”

The budget calls for two additional police patrol officers, at a cost of $240,000; and a fire chief, at $140,000. Collier officials say the two more police officers will allow for increased safety and flexibility for the department and will address the township’s growth.

The fire chief “will provide hands-on management of the volunteer fire departments’ funding,” the commissioners’ statement said.

The budget calls for $42,000 for a women’s locker room for police; $10,000 for an expansion of the lower level of the township building for police, and $100,000 for a generator for the administration building. $80,000 is slotted for hardware upgrades for the police department.

Two police SUVs would cost $46,000 and a fire chief SUV is priced at $16,000. $950,000 is allotted for road improvements, and $100,000 is slated for a repair of the Steen Road bridge.

Improvements at Collier Park are just over a half-million dollars — $450,000 to resurface and add four pickleball courts, and $100,000 for other upgrades.