LANCASTER TWP — Township officials opted to not raise taxes as part of the 2026 budget unanimously approved by township supervisors during their final meeting of the year on Monday, Dec. 15.

The general tax rate remained at 7.5 mills, along with another 3 mills devoted to the fire tax for the Harmony Fire District and 1.69 mills for the hydrant tax applied only to homes within 780 feet of a hydrant. One mill is equivalent to one dollar of tax for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value.

While the property tax rate remained the same, officials did reallocate a half-mill from the general fund to support Harmony EMS.

Lancaster Township was one of 10 municipalities in the agency’s coverage area asked to contribute a half-mill to help close a gap in funding.

In place of implementing a new tax like some surrounding municipalities — such as Zelienople, Harmony and Jackson Township — have done, the move from officials will generate $21,158 in new revenue for the agency.

Total revenue and expenditures in the budget came out to $2,239,362. The largest expense was administration, which totaled $1,168,021, or 53.6% of the budget. That was followed by public safety, which checked in at $683,738, or 30.5%. The road department accounted for $387,603, or 15.9%.

In other business, supervisors unanimously approved the reappointment of Meredith Welles and Joel Grobe to four-year terms on the planning commission. Meanwhile, Jesse Telesz was appointed to the zoning hearing board for a five-year term.

The township’s mandatory reorganization meeting is set for 6 p.m. Jan. 5.