Peters Township holds line on real estate tax
Peters Township’s real estate tax rate stays the same for 2019.
Township council voted Dec. 17 to maintain the rate of 1.622 mills, meaning that a property owner pays $162.20 per $100,000 of assessed value.
A caveat, though, comes with information provided in the fact sheet distributed at the meeting.
“It is worth noting that the budget anticipates the issuance of a bond issue to finance proposed capital projects. The issuance of this bond may result in a future increase in the property tax levy.”
Council also approved a five-year capital improvement plan through 2023, with $9 million-plus in projects called for in 2019.
“I think it’s going to be a busy year for the township in terms of being able to accomplish all the tasks that we have set aside,” township manager Paul Lauer said. “But I think one of the things the staff has been able to demonstrate is that we’re up to that kind of challenge.”
The most expensive 2019 project is construction of a road through the former Rolling Hills Country Club property and related intersection at East McMurray and Center Church roads. The township’s outlay as called for in the capital improvement program is $3.15 million, and Peters Township School District is paying half the project’s cost.
Primarily because of the ambitious program, the township’s 2019 operating budget as adopted by council calls for $26.92 million in expenditures vs. $22.56 million in revenues.
“What you see is what appears to be a budget that is off-balance,” Lauer told council members. “What it presupposes is that we’re going to finance a portion of those expenditures with long-term debt.”
He said that money collected through the township’s traffic impact fee program, which totals about $1 million, also is available to offset the expenditures.
The township plans to develop half of the Rolling Hills property as a municipal park, and the school district is in the process of constructing a new high school on its half.
“One of the things that I think we need to firmly establish is our plans for development of the park,” Lauer said. “And based upon that, it will define the size and scope of that bond issue.
Council member Monica Merrell pointed out another reason for the seeming disparity in the 2019 budget.
“We try to be conscientious about what we’re projecting, that we’re not overprojecting for revenue or underprojecting expenses,” she said. “We’re going to keep a close eye on expenditures and manage them closely.”