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State DCED official outlines Act 511 taxation options to Ferguson Township supervisors
Summary
A Pennsylvania DCED official briefed the Ferguson Township Board on Act 511 non‑real‑estate taxes — from per‑capita levies to business privilege taxes — and answered supervisors' questions about fire/EMS, local services tax and collection mechanics.
Terry Kunkel of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development told the Ferguson Township Board of Supervisors on Oct. 16 that municipalities have several non‑real‑estate revenue tools under Act 511, including per‑capita, occupation, local services and earned‑income taxes, realty transfer and amusement/mechanical device levies. Kunkel provided statutory context, limits for second‑class townships and examples of how neighboring municipalities use special‑purpose levies to fund specific services.
"I love to pay taxes, said no one ever," Kunkel told the board during a frank presentation about the tradeoffs of local levies, adding that reasonable public messaging and transparency help residents accept targeted taxes tied to visible services such as fire protection or parks. She pointed supervisors to DCED resources and Title 53 for legal text and implementation guidance.
During a prolonged question‑and‑answer period, supervisors focused on the practical effects of several options. Matt Heller asked how a 2‑mill road machinery tax would work; Kunkel said a road machinery fund can be established to finance specific heavy equipment purchases and that any receipts must be spent on the designated purpose. Omari Patterson asked whether adding many small special taxes increases administrative costs; Kunkel said routine bookkeeping is required but collection is typically handled by existing tax collectors or collectors' systems and the incremental administrative burden is often manageable.
Kunkel highlighted areas that commonly draw interest from townships: a fire tax (up to 3 mills), an EMS tax (up to 0.5 mills), the local services tax (collected where people work) and earned income tax (collected where people live). She warned that per‑capita levies are difficult to collect and that some occupation taxes can be complex to administer.
Why it matters: Ferguson is revising its 2026 operating budget at a time of rising personnel and service costs; the board said it wants to understand legal options for targeted revenue before proposing any tax changes to residents. Supervisors asked staff to return with scenario analyses if the board wants to pursue any option.
What’s next: Kunkel said DCED materials and MunStats municipal comparisons are available to help the township model revenue options; supervisors asked staff to include revenue scenarios in the November budget draft so the board can evaluate tradeoffs before any formal proposal or ordinance.
