The Schuylkill Township supervisors have proposed a 2018 budget that keeps property taxes level.

The supervisors voted 3-0 to advertise for adoption a budget with expenses totaling $443,600.

They plan to adopt the final budget at their meeting on Dec. 4.

The proposed budget would keep the property tax rate at 10.22 mills.

It has roughly $5,500 less in expenditures than 2017, when the township built a new shed to hold salt for the road crew to use on township roads.

“The board of supervisors have reviewed and discussed the 2018 annual budget. The township needs to advertise the annual budget in the newspaper,” supervisor Charles Fayash said.

The budget includes $4,500 to be split among to the township’s three fire departments — Tuscarora, Mary D, and Brockton.

The Mary D and Brockton companies announced their intention to merge last month. Supervisor Charles Hosler said that the supervisors decided to budget as if all three will stay in operation, because the merger could take up to a year.

“We don’t know how long it’s going to take,” he said. “The predictions are from six months to a year. It’s not a fast process.”