By Monica Fragale
Contributing Writer

East Marlborough residents questioned supervisors at the last township budget meeting about a proposed tax increase that would more than double a property owner’s township taxes in 2025.

“You don’t want to kick the can anymore,” one of the residents said at the Oct. 16 meeting. “It seems like we ought to know where the can is at this stage.”

The township millage is proposed to be increased from 2.183 mills to 4.883 mills. A mill is $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. That means owners of a property assessed at $231,587 could expect to pay an additional $625 in township taxes in 2025, according to township data.

The next township budget meeting will be Oct. 23 from 6-8 p.m. at the East Marlborough Township building.

The supervisors had planned to meet last week with Kennett Township Manager Alison Dobbins, the new administrator for the Kennett Fire and EMS Regional Commission, before she is expected to address residents’ concerns at the next East Marlborough budget meeting.

Much of the concern from the residents who attended centered around funding for the commission. Taxes for 2025 would include increases of 0.425 mills for emergency services and 1.575 for fire protection. The supervisors are also proposing to increase the general purpose tax by 0.7 mills, which helps to fund the operations of departments like public works, police, and administration, among others.

 “What I hope we can do is make you understand why it’s necessary,” said township Supervisor John Auger. “We all want to make East Marlborough a great place to live.”

“And these tax increases are going to affect all of us,” said supervisors’ Vice Chairwoman Ellen Sosangelis. “We are looking to do what is best for everyone and are going through (the budget) with a fine-tooth comb.

“This year with four budget meetings that we invited the public to, that is the most we’ve ever had to try and help people understand what we’re going through.”

Township Manager Neil Lovekin said the funds raised by increasing the fire and EMS taxes would  cover East Marlborough’s contribution to the commission for all of 2025 and possibly part of 2026. East Marlborough is one of five municipalities that comprise the commission – along with three fire companies – and the municipalities pay for coverage each year based on the municipality’s population, estimated valuation, and number of emergency calls.

“We have just shy of a $1.4 million contribution to the regional commission in 2025,” Lovekin said.  “These increases should get us either a quarter or all of the way through 2026.”

He explained that the 2026 contribution could be closer to $1.6 million for East Marlborough, if it follows the trend of increasing about 20 percent each year.

“Our current tax increase will not account for that,” he said.

One of the residents asked whether the township’s annual contribution to the fire and EMS commission was negotiable.

“We’ve been working with the commission,” Auger said. “There was extensive discussion at the fire commission meeting” about upcoming costs.

Sosangelis encouraged residents to attend the regional commission meetings, which are held monthly at the Kennett Township building. A commission meeting was held Oct. 8; the next one is planned for Nov. 12.