Franklin Township appears to be on the verge of its first tax increase in over a decade.

Township supervisors last week granted tentative adoption of the 2025 budget which calls for a 1-mill increase.

If that goes through, it would raise the township’s millage rate from 7.64 to 8.64 mills.

Board Chairman Fred Kemmerer Jr. said that the township is proposing a $30 increase in garbage collection next year.

Regular customers who paid $255 this year would pay $285 next year. The senior rate will not increase and will remain at $170.

“The purpose is being it’s taking 15 years to replace garbage trucks right now under our current system and this would just move that process from 15 years to about seven to eight years,” Kemmerer said. “We’re finding that once you get past the 10-year mark, the garbage trucks end up going to the point where we’re constantly repairing them and it ends up costing us money hand over fist.

“If you look at this year’s garbage budget, you’ll see a ton of equipment expenses that were put out for garbage and it brings our awareness of the fact that 15 years is just too long to wait if we’re in a garbage business. And we had to do something to make sure that we could expedite new trucks coming to the township. So that increase is reflective of turnover rate for our garbage trucks.”

Supervisor Robin Cressley added that the township’s oldest truck is 2009.

“It’s just been the last few years killing us with expense repairs,” Cressley said. “We’re not running down to Walnutport or Danielsville anymore; we’re all the way out in Pen Argyl.

“Miles rack up, worn out parts. It was underfunded for years, though.”

Kemmerer noted that even with an increase, “we’re the cheapest, even with the increase, cheapest garbage in the whole county.”

Cressley said that a garbage truck costs almost $300,000.

Kemmerer said that it’s because of the deficit the township had between income and expenses for next year’s budget that it’s proposing a 1-mill increase.

It was noted that this would represent the first tax increase in the township since 2010, when taxes were raised by 1.5 mills.

At that time, the garbage collection fee was raised by $20, from $235 to $255 for regular customers. The senior rate did not increase and remained at $170.

Last December, the board adopted this year’s budget with no tax increase, and also adopted a resolution to leave this year’s garbage collection rates the same.