Plymouth Township Council Holds Line on Municipal Taxes

With an eye on being as fiscally responsible as possible, the Plymouth Township Council – for the 23^rd year in the row – will maintain the township’s 1.60 millage rate. The governing body adopted its 2019 spending plan at Monday night’s meeting.

Plymouth Township’s tax rate has remained at 1.60 mills since 1996, when it was lowered from 1.72 mills. At the current rate, the owner of the average Plymouth Township home assessed at $180,000 would continue to pay $288 for all municipal services.

To give greater financial support to the Plymouth and Harmonville volunteer fire companies, the Plymouth Township Council enacted a slight increase in the fire services fee, from .50 mills to .56 mills. The boost represents approximately a $10 per year increase, for a total annual contribution of $101, for the owner of the average township residence. The Council instituted a fire service fee in 2015 to dedicate funds for fire apparatus, equipment, utilities, insurance and salaries for two employees for each company.

In addition to continuing to provide the same level of exceptional services, the 2019 budget will also cover various projects, including, $300,000 in annual street paving; $105,000 for New Hope Street Bridge repairs; $182,000 in upgrades to Harriet Wetherill Park in conjunction with a grant; $1.8 million in improvements at the Greater Plymouth Community Center, including $1.7 for a new roof; Public Works vehicles and equipment in the amount of $327,320; five new police patrol cars and fit-out in the amount of $314,783; $93,676 for police radios; and $160,000 for a computer server.

Township staff worked diligently with the governing body to minimize the impact on residents. The Council held three workshop meetings with department directors and the township’s emergency services providers – Harmonville Fire Co., Plymouth Fire Co. and Plymouth Ambulance.

The 2019 budget projects revenues in the amount of $24,930,138. Business taxes account for 40 percent of total revenues, while earned income taxes amount to 29 percent and real estate taxes contribute 11 percent of the projected revenues.

General fund expenditures for next year are $25,179,538, a 2.7 percent increase from 2018.The Police Department is the largest expenditure at 33 percent of the budget, followed by Sanitation and Public Works at 9 percent, Fire and Emergency Management at 6 percent and Parks and Recreation at 6 percent.