Frazer approves budget with 40% tax increase

Frazer property owners can expect a 40% tax hike next year after supervisors unanimously approved the 2023 township budget Tuesday.

The $1.3 million budget calls for a property tax increase from 2.5 mills to 3.5 mills, which officials have said is necessary to bolster the police department and to cover additional costs and purchases. With Frazer’s median household value at $68,600, homeowners can expect to pay about $68.60 more in taxes.

Those who apply and qualify for the township’s $40,000 homestead exemption will only pay $28.60 more in taxes.

“In the last 50 years, we haven’t touched anything. So there’s no room to really reallocate any money from anywhere else; that’s our only choice,” said Matt Beacom, chair of the board of supervisors. “Or it was to get rid of the $40,000 homestead exemption tax that we give our residents, and it would’ve ended up being more money than what we raised it. So we went that route.”

Officials have said the tax hike will provide an extra $144,000 for maintaining the police department, including the addition of two full-time officers, the purchase of a new salt truck with a plow and spreader and the ability to cover increasing costs for other goods and services.

“The police department is a big expense for us right now,” township Supervisor Lori Ziencik said. “With a shortage of police officers coming out of the academy, we no longer have a supply of part-time officers. So in order to get them and keep them, the chief requested us that we hire full time.”

There are also additional expenses from the decrease in part-time officers because there will be an increase in cost of benefits, she added.

In total, the budget is about a 2.5% increase over this year.

The biggest ticket items in the budget include $169,644 for full-time police officer salaries, including the two new officers. That equates to a 244% increase over the $49,316 budgeted for this year.

Meanwhile, salaries of part-time officers will decrease by 60%, down from $299,520 to $119,808.

The public works department will also see a decline with a $168,110 budget, a roughly 36% decrease from the $262,455 budgeted for this year.