Eldred Township supervisors approved a tax increase to assist the fire department and save money for future purchases of dump trucks and related equipment.

The total of the three taxes involved is 1.95 mills on every $1,000 of taxable property, up from 1.38 mills last year. It is a 41% increase, according to Jim Philips, the township’s treasurer.

Broken down, it is 1.45 mils for the general tax, 0.25 mills for the Capital Vehicle Purchase and Equipment Fund, and 0.25 mills for the Fire Protection Fund. A 0.25 mill increase is expected to generate $50,000.

Gary Hoffman, the chairman of the supervisors, said the Capital Vehicle Purchase and Equipment Fund will be used specifically for the purchase of a new dump truck in about three years and related equipment expenses. He said Philips and Frank Fehlinger, the public works manager, created an amortization schedule showing the ages of the township’s trucks, how long they may last and more.

“At least we can plan for this, when they do break beyond reasonable repair,” Hoffman said. “The last one, it was due to corrosion from the salt. It was cracked. It was a significant repair bill, like $40 grand.”

Former Supervisor Mary Anne Clausen questioned the supervisors about the tax increase, and why they decided to do this now.

“I just think in a year when people have lost jobs or jobs are reduced and people’s incomes overall is low, I think it’s perhaps unnecessary and definitely the wrong time,” she said.

Hoffman said he understands, but the equipment on the list is about 20 years old and expensive.

In the past two years, the township has had to lease-to-own two new dump trucks. One they received this year, and the other will be ready next year.

“We didn’t try to outright buy it, obviously, because we didn’t have that kind of cash lying around. We bought it essentially financing it with a low-interest lease purchase,” he said. “We’re down one truck. What resident wants a week to get their road plowed?”

Hoffman said they looked for used trucks, but nothing was in good enough shape for the price.

Fehlinger said to purchase a new dump truck outright costs about $175,000 each. The principal and interest on the lease loans is $87,030.

Clausen asked if the tax increase will help pay for the lease loans.

“No, that’s to save up,” said Supervisor Donna Mikols. “We’re trying to put in place a capital emergency plan to have money available so we’re not scrambling in the budget in the future.”

The supervisors are hoping that by the time they have to replace the next oldest dump truck in about three years, the fund they created now will have at least almost enough to buy the truck outright.

Fehlinger said the new trucks should last at least 20 years, and he has implemented a maintenance program to prevent extensive corrosion from happening again. Each truck is assigned to a specific driver, who is responsible for cleaning it after it’s used.

Similarly, half of the $50,000 raised by the 0.25-mill increase for the Fire Protection Fund will be saved to help the Kunkletown Volunteer Fire Company pay for an expensive purchase, such as a firetruck or ladder truck, in the future. It will also be used to cover the cost of mutual aid from other fire companies.

“A firetruck today is in excess of a half a million dollars on up,” Hoffman said. “A ladder truck is a million.”