EVANS CITY — Taxes in the borough will increase by 5 mills in 2018, from 20 to 25 mills.

The 5-mill increase comes from an additional 2.8 mills needed to pay for a newly signed police contract and 2.2 mills needed for water management requirements, particularly from the Department of Environmental Protection’s new Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) mandate.

A mill in Evans City is around $9,700, according to Lee Dyer, Evans City Borough council president.

The increase in police cost comes from a new five-year contract, ratified in September, which included salary increases for officers of 4 percent for the first two years, 3.5 percent for the third and fourth years and 3 percent for the fifth year.

The borough shares a police department with Seven Fields, whose portion of the overall police department budget of $728,645 is $386,145, while Evans City contributes the remaining $342,500.

The increase in water management costs stem primarily from the recently enacted MS4 mandate, which requires the township to make a plan for stricter stormwater management and pollution control. Over the summer, township officials estimated it would cost $18,750 for the plan, application and fees.

“We submitted a waiver, and they denied that,” Dyer said.

The mandate requires the borough reduce sediment in Breakneck Creek by 10 percent in the next five years.

Officials plan to meet these goals through increased street sweeping and snow removal, which allows the borough to remove sediment so it doesn’t wash into the creek, as well as detecting and combating illegal pollution sources into the creek and its tributaries.

The board will vote on the budget at 1 p.m. Dec. 28.

“People have until then to write us a letter, ask questions, etc.,” Dyer said.

Material, supply and insurance costs have also increased but this will be absorbed into the existing budget, according to a borough news release.

“I think the great news is for four years we had reduced taxes,” Dyer said. “We also reduced our budget by $300,000.”

The reduction brought taxes down from 22.88 mills to 20 mills to help citizens offset the projected increase in water and sewer charges needed to pay for a new $10 million waste treatment plant. The board also hoped it would stimulate the economy, though Dyer explained that did not work as well as they had hoped.

The total projected revenue for Evans City borough in 2018 is $869,763, according to the release. Real estate tax revenue will be around $225,000.

Evans City’s other sources of revenue include about $190,000 in earned income tax and the sale of water and sewer assets of $205,000 per year to the Evans City Water and Sewer Authority. The sale of these assets will be completed in about 23 years.

The Evans City street department budget is $195,000.