By Monica Fragale
Contributing Writer

East Marlborough Township supervisors will look at raising the township’s general real estate taxes for the first time since approximately 1997.

It is one of three separate tax increases the township is considering in its 2025 budget, and the possible tax increase was a topic of the Oct. 2 budget work session. One possibility is for the supervisors to raise the general fund tax to 1.75 mills. They had discussed in their first budget work session increasing the EMS tax by 2 mills, and will consider an increase in the open space tax, according to East Marlborough Township manager Neil Lovekin.

If approved later this year, total taxes could go from 2.183 mils to 4.883 mills. A mill is $1 for every $1,000 of assessed value.

“This is a working budget, and no decisions are being made now,” said Supervisor Jake Elks. “It shows where we need to go.”

The 1.75 mills for real estate would represent a middle-of-the-road increase, Lovekin said. 

Currently the township real estate tax is at 1.05 mills for general purposes, 0.2 mills for open space, 0.183 mills for the library, 0.675 for fire, and 0.075 for EMS. The library tax differs from the capital contribution that East Marlborough and other municipalities pledged to the Kennett Library; the six-year contribution will be in its sixth and final year in 2025, and was used to help build the library, according to Lovekin.

Any surplus funds the general tax would bring in next year could go to the capital fund, according to Lovekin, who explained that there are over $1 million in capital expenditures planned over the next several years. 

Future budget work sessions are scheduled for Oct. 16 and 30 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A vote to preliminarily authorize the budget is expected at the November monthly meeting, at which time the budget would be available for public review.

A final budget is expected to be approved at the December supervisors’ meeting.