Richland holds line on tax rate for 2021, some paving could be delayed until revenue rolls in

In early October, Richland Township officials announced that they would reduce spending to avoid hiking taxes next year to make up for a drop in revenue because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The more than $7.23 million spending plan for 2021 approved unanimously by township supervisors holds true to that decision — the property tax rate will remain the same and funding for some programs will be delayed until the township has a clearer picture of the pandemic’s effect on the budget.

The unchanged 2.2-mill tax real estate tax rate means property owners will continue to pay $2.20 for each $1,000 of assessed property value, or $220 a year on a property with an assessed value of $100,000.

The property tax is expected to generate about $2.25 million next year, which is about the same as in 2020. The tax on real estate is the largest source of income for the township.

“Our revenue was flat in 2020 and is projected to continue to be so next year,” said manager Dean Bastianini. “We were able to save about $300,000 this year by only spending 75% of the money budgeted for road paving.”

Bastianini said while next year’s $1.2 million paving budget is at the same level as this year, “but with so many uncertainties we’re facing, we’ll have to reevaluate where we are in terms of revenue in the spring before proceeding with work.”

“We follow a multi-year paving program and our goal is to stay on schedule with it,” the manager said. “We don’t want to fall behind because if we procrastinate too long, we’ll be facing a much bigger mountain to climb in terms of paving projects that need to be done.”

The 1% wage tax levied on residents’ gross earnings is expected to generate about $2.115 million in 2021, which is $200,000 less than this year. Revenue from the tax is split with the Pine-Richland School District.

But the township doesn’t get its half of the 1% tax employers withhold from workers’ paychecks until after the end of each quarter, which means the municipality won’t know until later in the year whether the shutdowns caused by the pandemic will result in less income.

This year the township used about $900,000 in unspent money from 2019 to balance the budget. Next year’s budget is balanced with nearly $1.5 million leftover from 2020.

The $1.74 million budgeted for services provided by the Northern Regional Police Department — about $81,000 more than this year — will be the largest yearly expense for the township.