November 20, 2024

A percentage breakdown of anticipated revenue

Concord Township is getting ready for its vote on the 2025 budget and council members are talking a tax increases for fire protection. The proposed overall millage is up from 0.514 total for 2024 to 0.5773 for 2025. That change is based on an increase in the proposed fire protection tax from this year’s 0.044 mils to 0.1683 mils for next year.

According to Concord’s Finance Director Bill Kaelin’s presentation during the Nov. 19 budget hearing, the increased millage for Concordville Fire & Protection Association will bring the township’s contribution to $527,530, an increase of more than $300,000 over last year, but still short of the $656,000 requested. In terms of real dollars, the increase amounts to an estimated $42 per year for the average property owner. The fire company is asking for almost $657,000 per year over the next several years.

“Concordville Fire is probably one of the best institutions in Delaware County if not all of southeastern Pennsylvania,” said Concord Council President Dominic Pileggi. “Unfortunately, it is no longer a volunteer fire company, it’s a paid fire department. With that, there are costs.”

Pileggi continued, saying people who fight the fires need to be paid and that the fire company made a presentation that “warranted their getting more money in order to pay to put the fires out and provide the ambulance services to the people of Concord Township.”

He also said he encourages the other municipalities served by Concordville Fire to treat it the same way.

The entire millage increase will go to the fire company, Pileggi added, and there is no increase for the general fund, the library, or anything else.

Pileggi also said he would like Kaelin and township Manager Amanda Serock to look for other sources of revenue — other than property taxes — for the general fund beginning with the 2026 budget.

The millage rate breakdown is 0.2060 for the general fund, .0640 for the Rachel Kohl Library, .061 for property owners in a hydrant district, 0.139 for open space, plus the 0.1683 for fire protection.

Looking ahead to capital projects during the next five years.

Expenditures for 2025 are estimated at $4,321,420, (an increase of 3.28 percent over 2024), with $4,116,100 in anticipated revenues. Serock said that the difference will be balanced with the township using its carry-over fund balance from 2024. She also said Concord is the second largest land mass and has the third lowest tax rate in Delaware County with the average township tax bill of $229 per year.

Looking ahead, there are several capital projects the township will be funding in 2025. Trail and park improvements will cost $1 million, another $1 million will go toward traffic safety improvements, $1 million for stormwater management, and another $1 million for road paving.

Council will vote on the final budget during the regular meeting on Dec. 3.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

Police Log Nov. 20: Theft, burglary, water fight

Police

Pennsylvania State Police

Media Barracks

• A 52-year-old man from Glen Mills had his computer hacked which resulted in the victim losing 61,196 Realio coins (RIO) from his Realio wallet. The value is estimated at $53,940, police said.

• State police said they arrested a 61-year-old woman for spraying water in the face of a 71-year-old neighbor. The incident happened on Sept. 12 in the Townhouses of Parker Place in Concord Township. According to the police report, one of the neighbors placed a bag with dog feces in her doorway. The victim confronted the other neighbor and demanded to know if she had placed the dog feces in her doorway. Both neighbors exchanged words which ended when the actor used a hose to spray the victim in the face with water.

• Police are investigating a burglary at the CVS on Route 1 in Concord Township on Oct. 16. According to the report, two people, a man and a woman, entered the store and took multiple items off shelves. The couple then exited the store and fled in an unknown direction before police arrived.

• Linwood Black, 45, of Wilmington, was arrested for receiving stolen property, according to a police report. Police said they initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle that was entered as stolen. The vehicle pulled over and the operator was taken into police custody without incident. The incident happened on Nov. 11 shortly before 7 p.m. on Route 1.

Avondale Barracks

• Police said they arrested a 53-year-old woman (not identified in the report) for shoplifting at Walmart in East Marlborough Township on Nov. 6. No details of what was taken were released.

• A 46-year-old man was arrested for harassment with physical contact in Pennsbury Township on Nov. 10. The suspect’s name was not released. According to the report, the victim — the suspect’s significant other — said she was slapped in the face. Troopers were to be filing charges.

• State police are investigating the reported theft of $7,000 in cash from a home in Pocopson. The incident happened on Oct. 23.

• Ruben A. Rivera, 18, of Avondale, was cited following a one-car crash in East Marlborough Township on Nov. 7. The accident happened on Bancroft Road shortly before 11 p.m. According to the police report, Rivera was driving north on Bancroft at its intersection with Line Road. He was unfamiliar with the area and was unable to slow to make a left-hand turn. The Chevy Tahoe he was driving crashed into a fence and came to final rest in an open field.

• Police said Erin K. Bridges, 29, of Philadelphia, was cited for not waiting for police to arrive at the scene of a reportable accident in East Marlborough Township on Oct. 28. The report said two vehicles were southbound on the road leading to the Pocopson Home on Lenape Drive when the lead car stopped at a stop sign, but the second vehicle driven by Bridges struck that car from behind. Police said the other driver took a photo of Bridge’s ID, insurance, and registration cards, but Bridges fled before police arrived. She was cited for failing to give information and render aid, the report said.