MAR LIN - Norwegian Township residents will not see a tax increase in 2014, the township supervisors noted at Monday night's board meeting.
Supervisor Robert Kirwan said taxes will remain at 2.73 mills if the $739,362 budget gets approved Dec. 27.
"As far as everything goes, we are holding everything tight," he said. "No tax increases across the board."
All taxes will remain the same, with the earned income tax at 0.5 percent, local services tax at $52 and realty transfer tax at 0.5 percent. The township has not increased taxes in 23 years, according to Kirwan.
The budget is available for public inspection at the township municipal building, 506 Maple Ave.
While the supervisors have no plans to raise taxes in the upcoming year, the township will pay $1 more per ton to dispose of its trash at the Commonwealth Landfill. The township is not not passing the extra cost onto residents. The trash fee will stay at $60 a year per household if paid on time.
Commonwealth Landfill did not give a reason for the increase in a letter sent to the township, Kirwan said. The supervisors plan to pursue the matter.
Although trash bills won't increase, residents of Mar Lin, Seltzer and Woodland Acres will have to pay $2 more a month for sewer service effective Jan. 1, amounting to a monthly charge of $43. The increase is due to a rate change by the Minersville Sewer Authority, the supervisors said. Businesses in the township will also see an increase in fees.
"The Minersville Sewer Authority raised the sewer rate 5 percent, which amounts to $2 a month," Kirwan said.
Kirwan said the township can't use general fund money to compensate for the increase.
In other news, six security cameras were installed outside the township municipal building about a month ago. The cameras cost $3,500 and include a digital video recorder and a screen. The cameras work 24 hours a day, the supervisors said.
"We installed them for safety," Kirwan said. "We haven't had any damage or anything like that, but we have some lawn damage. People riding across the lawn in the summer time and the winter time just putting tire tracks in the grass."
The supervisors also voted to adopt an updated hazard mitigation plan for the county. Hazard mitigation plans generally deal with steps a municipality would take in the event of a natural disaster. The previous plan was adopted in 2007.
Township solicitor B.J. Evans said the township could apply for grants to deal with any issue related to hazard mitigation in the municipality, such as the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
HMGP provides grants to states and local governments to implement long-term hazard mitigation measures after a major disaster declaration, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency website, www.fema.gov. The purpose of the HMGP is to reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters and enable mitigation measures to be implemented during the immediate recovery from a disaster.
Harlan West, the township's planning commission chairman, said the public is invited to a public hearing on a comprehensive plan for the township shortly after 7 p.m. Jan. 27 and Feb. 24. The comprehensive plan discussed will be a guide for the future growth plans of the municipality.