The municipal property tax rate in Sellersville will remain the same in 2019, but certain sewer rates are increasing.
On Dec. 11, borough council approved the new sewer rates and a 2019 budget that carries a millage rate of 24 mills.
A mill is equal to $1 of every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. To calculate the municipal tax on a Sellersville property, multiply the assessed value of the property by 24 mills and then divide by 1,000.
For example, a Sellersville home assessed at $32,000 would owe $768 in annual municipal property taxes in 2019. The millage rate doesn’t apply to the local earned income tax, which municipalities assess separately as a percentage of income.
Established by an approved ordinance, the new sewer rates involve increasing, from $50 to $60, the minimum charge tied to the first 300 cubic feet of water used in a given quarter. The rate for customers who use more than 50,000 cubic feet of water per quarter is also rising by 25 cents per 100 cubic feet of usage, said Borough Manager David Rivet.
Officials say that the rate hike is needed to cover increasing costs for maintaining the sewer system. Rivet noted that the minimum sewer rate charge has not risen in three years.
In 2019, Sellersville will operate under a municipal budget that carries a general fund of $2,713,900.
Up nearly $91,000 from the current year, the general fund is the main financial source for the borough’s key operations, from police and administration, to public works and more.
“The proposed increase in the general fund is driven by increases in wages, insurance costs, and police services,” said Rivet.
As part of planned improvements for next year, the borough aims to replace the sewer main and laterals from the main line to the curb on Green Street and then reconstruct Green Street. The total project cost is $593,000. The borough is using a $293,277 Pa. Small Water and Sewer Program grant for the sewer line portion.
Among other envisioned improvements, Sellersville intends to reconstruct West Ridge Avenue from South Main Street to the elementary school entrance at an estimated cost of $56,000.
