Hempfield supervisors on Monday gave final approval to double property taxes in 2026.
The property tax millage rate will go from 3 to 6 mills to create a 3-mill fire tax to fund the fire department. It’s the first time property taxes have increased in Hempfield in more than three decades.
Supervisors voted 4-1 to adopt the 2026 budget and millage rate. Supervisor Doug Weimer cast the lone dissenting vote.
“I felt that we may have been able to make some other changes to maybe squeeze out another year” without a tax increase, he said after the meeting. “Unfortunately, it appears that it was time.”
The board was presented in November with two versions of the $17.8 million budget — one that kept the property tax rate steady at 3 mills for the 36th consecutive time and the second that created the fire tax. It was similar to proposals supervisors were given at the end of 2024.
The additional fire tax revenue is expected to solely fund the $1.95 million public safety department and allow officials to reallocate the existing 3 mills into other areas. Three mills of taxes brings in about $1.6 million.
Break for senior citizens
Eligible senior citizens are expected to get a break under a proposed rebate program that would essentially wipe out the tax hike and keep their bills the same. To qualify, a property owner must be 65 or older as of Jan. 1 of the tax year for which the rebate is requested, according to information provided by the township.
The applicant must meet income-based eligibility requirements and have owned and lived in the home as their primary residence for at least five years to be eligible for the rebate. A property owner will have to apply for the rebate annually.
The program is expected to cost the township $85,000 to $140,000 taken out of the property tax revenue. Money has been allocated for the program in the budget, township manager Aaron Siko said.
It is still in the works, and officials said more details will be released in January.
“I would like to thank our staff who did a tremendous job in reviewing this budget, bringing efficiency to the township and, ultimately, continuing to work on a longstanding history of fiscal responsibility here that the board has laid out,” Siko said.
Supervisor pay
Supervisors voted unanimously to increase their salary from $5,000 to $8,385.
State legislators in December 2024 raised the allowable compensation levels for Second Class Township supervisors to a maximum of $8,385 per year. The pay increase will not apply to those currently on the board, unless they are reelected to their seat.
That means the two supervisor seats that start new six-year terms in 2026 would get the increased rate. The remaining three seats would get the pay increase following the next municipal election.
The pay rate for Second Class Township supervisors was last raised statewide in 1995.
Supervisor Doug Weimer won reelection in November, and he will be joined in January on the board by Becky Durbin, as Supervisor Tom Logan did not seek another term. The board bid farewell to Logan, who has served as a supervisor for 18 years.
“I am honored and humbled that, for 18 years, the residents of Hempfield Township have put their trust in me to try to carry forward in public service my thoughts of how would be the best way to run the township,” Logan said.
