Penn Township commissioners will vote next week on a 2026 budget proposal that would not increase property taxes.

The nearly $12 million spending plan includes a property tax rate of 17.4 mills, plus a 1.3 mill tax dedicated to the township’s five volunteer fire departments — Claridge, Grandview, Harrison City, Level Green and Paintertown.

The fire tax was established in the 2013 budget. The township last increased its property tax rate in 2024, by 1 mill.

Projected revenues and expenses for 2026 are more than $11.9 million, up nearly $480,000 from 2025, said Finance Director Jaime Peticca.

“You have raises. You have to take into consideration our union contracts. Each year, there’s a 3% to 4% raise,” she said. “Utilities are going up. Everything is rating a bit higher these days.”

Peticca was hired in August after working about three years as Trafford’s borough manager.

The township’s real estate tax and earned income tax revenues are expected to increase by about $288,000 and $300,000, respectively.

General government, police and public works expenses are all projected higher than in 2025. The 2026 budget proposal includes a more than $91,000 increase to general government expenses, a more than $237,000 increase to police and a more than $160,000 increase to public works.

Peticca said the township may need to tweak its capital budget depending on how commissioners vote next week on an HVAC project at the municipal building — shared by township officials and Penn Area Library.

The building’s HVAC system has failed on multiple occasions throughout the past two years, said township Secretary/Manager Mary Perez.

“We’ve had fans in this room when meetings were going on,” Perez said. “We had to put window units in downstairs in the library, because their printed material does not do well in humid conditions.”

She continued: “We kind of hold our breath all summer long.”

Township officials have been discussing the project for the past several months and planned to use $700,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funding to pay for the new HVAC system.

But the sole bidder for the project, Cambria County-based Marc Services Inc., estimated the work will cost nearly $823,500.

“We didn’t anticipate it being more than that,” Peticca said.

Commissioners will vote on the HVAC project and the 2026 budget at 7 p.m. on Dec. 17 in the Penn Township Municipal Building, located at 2001 Municipal Court.