Harrison residents likely won’t see a property tax increase in 2026, but they might pay a slight fee for a dedicated fire fund.
The township commissioners approved a proposed $5.85 million budget that maintains the property tax rate of 5.6 mills. The owner of a home assessed at the median value of $75,100 would again pay $420.
Those same homeowners would pay an additional $41 for a proposed, dedicated fire tax of 0.55-mill.
It would provide $136,000 a year to pay for the new Citizens Hose fire engine and $110,000 to a capital equipment fund.
“This proposal is intended to provide a stable, dedicated and equitable funding source for the high cost of acquiring and replacing key fire apparatus,” township Manager Amy Rockwell said. “Due to the specialized nature and complexity of fire apparatus, there is an associated extremely high capital cost.”
With apparatus having a finite life span, they must be replaced, rather than waiting until they fail, to maintain an adequate emergency response, Rockwell said.
The dedicated fire fund will help ensure money is available to cover major, planned purchases rather than being diverted to other general municipal expenses.
“The proposed fire tax moves the funding of critical, multi-million dollar investments from uncertain sources to a predictable, maintained capital fund, safeguarding the community’s emergency readiness,” she said.
A look at the budget
Overall budget expenses reflect a 4% decrease from this year and an 18% cumulative reduction from 2023.
Rockwell said the biggest challenge to budget planning is the lack of regular property assessments by Allegheny County.
“Without routine reassessments, our real estate tax revenue will fail to reflect market value, significantly underfunding essential services and improvements,” Rockwell said.
“With the lack of a countywide reassessment since 2012, and the influx of assessment appeals, the outdated tax structure does not meet current needs.”
Rockwell said the township would need $1.6 million more today to have the same purchasing power as 10 years ago.
Harrison’s budget has about 85% fixed costs for service contracts and collective bargaining agreements. Efforts were made to renegotiate service contracts to lower expenses, Rockwell said.
“While we have successfully tightened budgets and reduced services, minimizing expenses is not a viable long-term strategy for success,” Rockwell said.
While residents won’t see a sewage fee increase, there will be some additional costs for user fees and license fees such as the tax on amusement devices. Rockwell said the fees, and the amounts they will increase, have not been finalized but are expected to be by the final vote.
Commissioners are scheduled to take a final vote during their regular meeting at 6 p.m. Dec. 22.
The budget can be viewed on the township website at harrisontwp.com.
