Taxes in Pocopson Township will not increase in 2018.

The supervisors approved the 2018 budget Monday night and again set the tax rate at 2.2 mills. A mil is $1 for every $1,000 of assessed valuation.

And while the millage rate is the same as 2017, the distribution is different. The tax rate resolution that supervisors approved sets the following rates. The dollar amount in parenthesis is what the millage amounts to on each $100 of assessed valuation.

• 0.8 mills for general operation ($0.08);
• 0.25 mills for fire protection ($0.025);
• 0.15 mills for ambulance and other emergency services ($0.015); and
• 1 mil for open space ($0.10).

For instance, a house assessed at $200,000 would pay $160 toward general operation, $50 toward fire protection, $30 toward ambulance and emergency services, and $200 toward open space.

The general operation millage increases from 0.5 mills in 2017. The millage for fire protection and for ambulance, rescue and other emergency services will decrease almost in half for both.

The reason for the change in the fire and EMS taxes is because funding for those fire and ambulance companies has been adjusted across the six municipalities they serve. Pocopson joined the Kennett Fire & EMS Regional Commission earlier this summer, which set a “fair funding formula” for those municipalities based on things like service demands and total assessed property value.

Also for 2018 the Earned Income and Net Profit Tax, the Local Services Tax and the Real Estate Transfer Tax will each remain the same as last year, which is as follows, according to a township resolution:

• Earned Income and Net Profit Tax: one-half percent on $12,000-plus of earnings;
• Local Services Tax: $1/week on $12,000-plus of earnings; and
• Real Estate Transfer Tax: one-half percent on the value of property sold from one person or entity to another.

Overall income for 2018 is estimated to be $3.7 million, and overall expenses are estimated at $3.9 million. The township will start the new year with fund balances totaling $2.98 million, an increase of almost $700,000 from the beginning of 2017, according to the budget.

The open space tax is estimated to generate $336,935 in 2018.

The adopted township budget will be available online at www.pocopson.org.