N. Annville Twp. supervisors enter into tax collection agreement with county

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

The North Annville Township supervisors adopted the Fire Tax Collection Agreement at their Jan. 12 regularly scheduled meeting. 

The agreement is with the Lebanon County Treasurer’s Office to collect the tax, the first-ever created in the township, which will help pay for a new $1.2 million fire engine for North Annville Fire Company. The township’s share of the funding for the new engine is $785,000. 

The collection agreement, board chairman Clyde Meyer explained, “will charge us a dollar per township tax bill collected by the county. Half of the printing and half of the postage. Township agrees to pay one half of the printing charges, one half of all the postage incurred by the county associated with the collection.”

Supervisors had approved the new tax on Dec. 8 and set it at 1 mill, only to lower it to 0.6 of a mill at a special meeting on Dec. 29. 

They lowered it after learning that the municipality had been awarded a $350,000 Local Share Assessment state grant through the Department of Community and Economic Development towards the cost of the new fire engine. On Dec. 29, it was noted the township had requested a grant totaling $475,000 and that the grant reward was announced one week after the Dec. 8 meeting, which is when the tax and the township’s 2026 budget had been approved.

The median assessed value of a home in North Annville Township in 2024 was approximately $148,840, meaning the average homeowner will pay $89.30 in real estate taxes in 2026. Township supervisor Adam Wolfe said there are 987 taxable properties in the municipality.

Township residents had voiced their displeasure with the new tax at recent meetings, with some asking fire company officials to get their existing equipment, which is more than two decades old, updated. Other residents asked the company to sell assets, including some of the physical properties following the merger of the township’s two fire companies in 2025. 

On Dec. 29, supervisor Aaron Miller commended fire company officials for selling other equipment following the merger, which led to savings of 26%. Miller said some merged companies don’t take measures to lower their redundancies to provide savings to their home municipalities, and he lauded local fire officials for moving to return funds to their coffers. 

The millage rate is expected to generate $118,875 in new revenue, while another $112,625 will be transferred from the general fund to an existing Jan. 1 balance of $220,000 in the fire service fund to fulfill the township’s $785,000 financial commitment to the project. The fire company is paying the balance of the bill to obtain the new fire engine. 

Wolfe noted in information provided to LebTown that a farm property with a $620,600 clean and green assessed value containing three chicken houses would pay $372.36 at the new millage rate.

In a related matter, during the Emergency Services Advisory Committee report later in the meeting, it was stated that committee members were recommending that supervisors create a fire tax without a referendum totaling $200,000 annually so that “there’s money there for (emergency services in) the future.” 

Supervisors did not take any action on that recommendation, but fire officials have said that other equipment will have to be replaced as it ages out in the future and funding will be needed to pay for it. It was noted at past meetings that, in response to fixing existing equipment, manufacturers no longer make replacement parts for equipment of a certain age. 

Fire company member Mark Sallada said at a recent meeting and reiterated recently to LebTown that he will not endanger his life by responding to emergency calls that use emergency equipment that is outdated. 

Other township business

In other business, supervisors unanimously agreed to:

• Announce that the reimbursement agreement with Lebanon Valley College concerning construction of a solar array on the college campus is in the hands of the respective legal teams representing the township and educational institution.
• Announce that there are 30 properties within the township that need to file their on-lot disposal system pumping notices by the Jan. 29 deadline.
• Table a motion for the creation of a nuisance ordinance enforcement officer to a future meeting. Discussions are continuing on this matter.
• Purchase at a cost of $6,741 a 4-gallon-per-minute, 13-horsepower hot water pressure washer from Leola-based Beco Equipment LLC. 
• Accept the Emergency Services Advisory Committee, fire company, planning commission, roadmaster, and zoning heard board reports.
• Read the bills and approve paying all of those invoices.
• Approve the minutes of the Dec. 8 monthly meeting, Dec. 29 special meeting, and the Dec. 8 treasurer’s report.

North Annville Township supervisors meet the second Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at the Union Water Works social hall, 2875 Water Works Way, Annville. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the township supervisors will be held on Monday, Feb. 9.