LANCASTER TWP — Supervisors approved the township’s 2025 budget, which includes the purchase of four police vehicles, during a meeting Monday, Dec. 16.

After delaying the upgrade for a year, the township received an optimal rate on two 2023 Ford Interceptors, a 2024 Interceptor and an unmarked Ford-150 pickup truck that will be used exclusively by the police department.

“We were very happy because we were able to get the 2023 models for a very nice price,” township manager Mary Hess said. “They’ve never been driven before, and they have full warranty. They’re the Interceptors we’ve always driven, and they’re nice looking cars.”

The cost for all four vehicles is $210,000. No deposit was required when it came to placing the order. Items such as cameras will be transferred from the older, outgoing models, and the vehicles will need to be outfitted with some modernized equipment.

After that process is completed, township officials said that they anticipate the three cars to be in their possession “no later than the end of February,” while the truck will be available for use beginning “sometime in April.”

While the department employs five full-time officers and five part-time officers, they will split time with the new Interceptors.

“Typically, an officer has a car, but there’s a couple of officers that share vehicles,” Hess added.

Supervisors have not yet decided what to do with the older models.

There will be no tax increases for the township’s residents heading into the new year. The millage rate of 10.5, broken down into 7.5 mills for the general fund and 3 mills for the Harmony Fire District, remains the same in the budget approved Monday.

For property owners, 1 mill is equivalent to $1 per $1,000 of a home’s assessed value.

Only a handful of residents will be assessed a hydrant tax, which amounts to 1.69 mills. That tax only applies to parcels within 1,000 feet of a hydrant.

The adopted budget will be posted to the township’s website on Tuesday, Dec. 17.