Upper Burrell forgoes fire tax as volunteer fire department buys new truck

The Upper Burrell supervisors are no longer considering enacting a controversial fire tax to help the township’s volunteer fire department buy a new truck.

That’s because the township’s fire department announced earlier this month that they just bought one.

“I don’t think we’re going to have a fire tax because the fire company bought a truck on their own,” said Ross Walker, chairman of Upper Burrell supervisors.

The Upper Burrell Volunteer Fire Company announced on its Facebook page that it bought a Pierce Saber Dry-side Tanker.

The fire company published a legal advertisement in a local newspaper on the truck, noting a financing deal with a debt ceiling of a little more than $500,000.

Numerous calls to fire company officials for comment were not returned.

While taxpayers will not have to pay the proposed fire tax, they were hit with a 20% real estate tax hike for the proposed 2022 budget.

A tight budget and the need to raise taxes this year could have precluded the possibility of adding another tax.

In early November, the township supervisors agreed to a real estate tax hike in its preliminary 2022 budget, the first tax increase in about 16 years. Township revenue took a hit from a real estate tax settlement with its largest landowner, Arconic.

The supervisors will vote on the final budget Wednesday, Dec. 1.

“The prospect of a fire tax dimmed when the fire company bought a truck on their own,” Walker said. “Earlier in the year, we were waiting to see what the Arconic response would be for the settlement and how much money we would have (for the fire company).”

The township gives the fire company almost $90,000 annually, which includes a Local Services Tax paid by people who work in the township, and money from the general budget that pays for fuel and insurance.

Several years ago, the fire company approached supervisors asking help to pay for a new fire truck to replace their main 24-year-old truck.

Supervisors floated a proposed 3-mill real estate tax that was pared down to 2 mills to pay for a new fire truck for the fire department last year.

The new fire truck was estimated to cost between $850,000 and $950,000.

While few disagreed with the need for the truck, residents and some former firefighters questioned the need for a new tax, with some calling for an audit of the fire company’s books.

Supervisors hired an auditing firm last year to check out the fire company’s finances. The preliminary report found no issues, according to supervisors.

While Walker said he doesn’t know the details yet on the fire company’s new truck, the township still stands behind them.

“We will help, and do, help them,” he said.

The fire company is a freestanding nonprofit and the township will not be financially liable for a fire truck financing deal, said Steve Yakopec, the township’s solicitor.

The fire company said on its Facebook page it will soon release its plans for a ladder truck.