Tuesday
October 3, 2023 
Upper Makefield officials are looking to hold the line on municipal real estate property taxes in 2020.
That’s the early outlook following preliminary development of the township budget for next year, Township Manager David Nyman told the Herald.
Should the township property tax remain the same in next year’s budget, the 2020 millage rate would be 7.6025. That rate breaks down as 0.75 for fire support and 6.8525 to cover voter-approved debt related to open space preservation/conservation.
A mill is equal to $1 of every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. To calculate the municipal tax on an Upper Makefield property, multiply the assessed value of the property by 7.6025 and then divide by 1,000.
For instance: An Upper Makefield property assessed around the recent township average of $65,748 would owe $500 in annual municipal property taxes in 2019. School and county taxes make up a much bigger portion of a resident’s property tax bill. The millage rate doesn’t apply to the local earned income tax, which municipalities’ assess separately as a percentage of income.
According to Nyman, the preliminary township budget is anticipating expenses to be about $7.4 million in 2020. The township budget pays for things like the police department, administration, public works, planning and zoning needs, and more.
Looking ahead to next year, Nyman said that one significant project the township is eyeing is the potential renovation of the municipal building on Eagle Road. Officials are contemplating various security and efficiency upgrades for the facility.
“Adding security for staff greeting visitors and removing multiple walls in a portion of the building that was designed as a police department (but is no longer used as such) are among the upgrades being considered,” said Nyman.
For the 2020 budget to be set in place, the Upper Makefield Board of Supervisors must approve it at a public hearing in which residents will be able to ask questions and comment. That hearing will occur before the end of the year, though an exact date wasn’t available.
