Mercer Township proposes separate fire tax
MERCER TWP — Township supervisors are proposing a 2-mill tax increase which would fund the Harrisville Volunteer Fire Company, while keeping the current millage rate for the township’s general fund and other emergency services intact.
“The purpose of the tax would be for the benefit of the fire department, and the township would be holding its general revenue mileage the same,” township solicitor Sean Gallagher said.
The idea was brought up by township supervisor John Bennett Jr. during the monthly supervisors’ meeting Monday night, Oct. 21.
“I do think that we, as a township, need to segregate the millage for the fire department,” Bennett said. “I would like to propose that we designate 2 mills to the fire department that’s separate, that goes to them through our tax collector, and we don’t worry about it.”
A separate fire tax, Bennett reasoned, would reduce the risk of the township having to dip into its general fund to cover the expenses of the fire department while still paying to maintain roads.
“What money we get in for our general fund stays in our general fund,” Bennett said. “It would actually give us a little bit more money in the general fund because we’ve had an increase on salt, we’ve had an increase on insurance rates. All these things are going up, and our income is staying about the same.”
This is not the first time the township has carved out a tax separate from the general fund. In late 2022, the township voted to approve a separate EMS tax, worth 0.5 mills, which went into effect at the start of 2023 and remains in place today.
As of 2024, the local millage rate for township residents is 7.1 mills. This does not include the county millage rate of 27.626 mills, or the Slippery Rock School District millage rate of 104.75. This makes the township’s total millage rate 139.476.
The supervisors will discuss approval of the fire tax and the millage increase at their next meeting on Nov. 18. By law, any millage changes must be reported to Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development by Dec. 1.
The township will hold a special budget meeting Nov. 18 at 3 p.m.
The Harrisville Volunteer Fire Company serves both Harrisville and Mercer Township, an area of 13.6 square miles, according to the fire company’s website.
