Unity Township’s supervisors agreed Wednesday to double the township’s general purpose property tax to 4.4 mills, expecting to raise an additional $600,000 in revenue to cover rising expenditures.
Supervisor Mike O’Barto noted the increase in that tax is the first approved in more than 50 years. And the resulting millage remains one of the lowest in the area.
He said the township is paying more for such essentials as asphalt, salt and public works pipes.
Several residents who attended the supervisors’ Wednesday meeting questioned the need for the millage hike and asked for details of township finances.
Jarred Kimmick asked the supervisors to pause their plan for a tax increase and to consider other ways to cover expenses.
“The answer is always we just increase taxes,” Kimmick said. “Can’t we get a little more creative? I don’t think people can afford it in the economy right now.”
O’Barto said the township in the past was able to borrow money at low interest rates to cover expenditures, instead of raising taxes.
“There have been grants we’ve gone after,” he added. “We have done many things to think outside the box, to try to facilitate the costs. But you still have to pay for them in the end.”
In 2021, the supervisors approved the township’s first bond issue, totaling about $10 million. The bonds had a 24-year term at an 2.45% interest rate.
Much of that financing allowed the township to pave roads that had not been resurfaced for many years, O’Barto said..
Last year, he said, Unity went over budget by $475,000 on winter maintenance.
“When that does happen, you’re almost robbing Peter to pay Paul,” he said, adding later, “The cost of doing municipal business isn’t going to go down. It’s going to keep going up.”
The supervisors on Wednesday approved an $8.4 million general fund budget, along with an $811,000 state liquid fuels fund and a $36,000 fund to cover costs for street lights.
Fire tax hike
They also agreed to increase from 2 mills to 3 mills a separate tax that helps six local fire departments through the Unity Township Bureau of Fire.
The additional $300,000 the tax would generate is meant to support continuation and possible expansion of a duty crew program that pays two two-member firefighter crews to stand ready to respond to weekday emergencies.
President Brian Schultheis said the fire bureau is considering adding more duty crew shifts overnight and on weekends.
The local fire departments also could use more revenue to help with equipment, operating and training costs, he said.
While levied at 2 mills, the township fire tax provided about $50,000 to each of the local departments, compared to the typical annual cost of $120,000 to $145,000 “just to keep the doors open,” Schultheis said. “The departments have to raise the rest.”
Some residents said they wanted a more detailed accounting of how township tax money is spent. Some suggested that the budget be posted on the township website.
“We understand that taxes are going to have to go up to pay for things,” said Kirk Simpson. “We just want to know where it’s going.”
Budget break down
A copy of the budget made available immediately after Wednesday’s meeting shows that anticipated “road and garage” expenses of about $2.2 million make up the township’s largest general fund spending category.
That includes $1.55 million for road and bridge maintenance, $120,000 for snow removal, $200,000 for vehicle operating expenses and $90,000 for vehicle repairs.
Other spending categories include: public safety, $1.15 million; employee benefits, $1.27 million; employee-related taxes, $1.12 million; administrative expenses, $890,000; miscellaneous administrative expenses (including an annual bond debt service payment of $488,500 and $110,000 for recreation), $866,500; insurance, $385,000; building expenses, $350,000; and tax collector expenses, $165,000.