South Union Township supervisors adopt 2016 budget with no tax increases
The South Union Township supervisors adopted a 2016 budget Wednesday that continues holding the line on taxes for more than 40 years.
Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of the $3.8 million budget that maintains the current property tax rate of 0.6 mills.
Supervisor Rick Vernon said it has been 42-43 years since the last tax increase.
Robert Schiffbauer, chairman of the board of supervisors, said it has been about 46 years.
Vernon said the township’s property taxes on a home with an assessed value of $50,000 is $30 and $60 for a $100,000 home.
Supervisor Jason Scott said residents are surprised when he tells them how few of their tax dollars go to the township.
In addition to real estate taxes, the supervisors voted to maintain the existing rates of other taxes for next year.
The earned income tax and real estate transfer tax rates will remain .5 of 1 percent.
Mercantile taxes will remain .5 of a mill on retail sales and 1 mill on wholesale sales. The local service tax will remain $47. The fire hydrant fee will remain $6 for homes and $9 for commercial uses.
“The coffers are pretty sound and firm,” Schiffbauer said.
Tax revenue from “substantial growth” in retail development as well as tight management keep the township on solid financial ground, he said.
“We have a pretty austere budget. We are investing these dollars in the right places,” Schiffbauer said.
The budget contains $3.8 million in revenue and $3.6 million in expenses.
In unrelated business, the supervisors appointed township engineer John Over of K2 Engineering of Uniontown to a vacancy on the Greater Uniontown Joint Sewage Authority board.
Schiffbauer said he hopes Over’s appointment will help maintain a trend of positive changes at the authority.
The authority has had problems with plant operations and had a poor relationship with the state Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees sewage plants, but those problems are being resolved.
In other business, the supervisors:
n Renewed a one-year animal control contract with Hoffman’s Board Kennels of Delmont at a cost of $605 a month and $70 for after-hour calls. Both fees reflect a $5 increase over last year’s contract.
n Scheduled the re-organizational meeting for 8 a.m. Jan. 4.