CLEARFIELD – When Gov. Edward G. Rendell did not sign a bill that would have changed the Emergency and Municipal Services Tax, it was great news to the Sandy Township Supervisors and those who own property there.
Because the bill was not signed, Sandy Township is planing to increase property taxes by a half mill instead of the 1.5 mills planned when the budget was presented two weeks ago.
If the bill had been signed, the EMS Tax would have only been levied on those who make more than $12,000 per year, four times the current cutoff amount of $3,000. To Sandy Township, the change would have meant that $173,000 would be collected instead of the $310,000 planned.
Of the 11 mills on property owners, 8.25 will be used for general purposes, with 2.25 mills being used for fire services.
The budget will now be posted at the township building and could see final adoption at the Dec. 4 meeting.
