CENTER TWP — Residents will likely be avoiding a property tax increase for the coming year, even as the township’s budget continues to grow.

Supervisors voted unanimously on Wednesday, Nov. 12, to begin advertising the township’s preliminary budget for 2026. While last year’s total was close to $2.4 million, this year will see the budget grow to just over $3 million in revenue and expenditures.

Despite the nearly $600,000 increase since last year, the property tax rate is expected remain the same at 7.05 mills, supervisors said at the meeting.

According to Chairman Phil Wulff, the primary cause of the increase is due to an expansion in the number of public works projects the township is looking to accomplish.

“Most of (the increase) comes from road paving, tree trimming and our public works,” he said. “We’ve seen the costs of those go up over recent years.”

After the vote, the preliminary budget is now on display for residents. It can be viewed for a 30-day period until supervisors vote on the finalized budget.