No property tax hike in Upper Burrell for 2021

The Upper Burrell supervisors will not raise property taxes for its preliminary budget of $1.2 million for 2021.

The tax rate will hold at 10.5 mills.

“There’s nothing special, either an increase or a decrease, in the 2021 budget,” said Ross Walker, chairman of the board of supervisors.

He said the township is operating efficiently with money spent in three areas, each receiving about one-third of township revenue: roads, police and administration.

Walker touted the supervisors’ history of not raising property taxes for at least a decade and balancing the budget for about 25 years without taking out a tax anticipation loan.

“Other municipalities take out tax anticipation notes because they are in need of money before some revenues come in later in the year,” he said. “We always have a carry-over amount of money that runs about $100,000-plus each year,” he said.

The largest sources of revenue in the 2021 budget are real estate taxes at $401,000, and per capita, earned income tax, local services tax and real estate transfer tax that totals $482,000.

The township’s greatest expenses in the 2021 budget are: Public safety, including salaries and expenses at $413,210; roads expenses $93,040; roads labor maintenance and paving fund, $222,400.

If there is extra money from sources such as the natural gas impact fee, the township will spend it on roads and police expenses, Walker said.

“We hardly get complaints,” he said, “but when we do, 90% of them are for roads.”

The township has 44 miles of roads and owns about half of them. Most of those local roads were established a couple centuries ago with a clay base, which causes the road surface to break down more quickly.

“We could raise taxes and make those roads like highways,” Walker said. “But we don’t want to raise taxes.”

However, the township supervisors are seeking to enact a two-mill fire tax sometime in the future to pay for a new fire truck for the township’s volunteer fire company. Although residents are in agreement that a new truck is needed, some are resistant to paying a new tax.

A resident and former fire company official, Jeff Ewing, who was recently appointed by council to a special fire company committee, said he wants to know more details before supervisors pass the fire tax.

At the supervisors’ meeting Wednesday, Ewing asked the supervisors for audit results. He want to meet with them and fire company officials to see if its necessary to enact a 2-mill tax increase.