Notice

Act 54 of 2024 - Boroughs in Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties Fire/EMS Tax Flexibility

Act 54 of 2024 was signed into law by Governor Josh Shapiro on July 11, 2024. While the original text of House Bill 2310 was a proposed Agriculture Innovation Fund, the bill became the vehicle for the 2024 Fiscal Code, which designates funding for a wide array of state programs in the Budget Process. Inside this 138-page bill, there was a provision that authorizes only boroughs in Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery counties to raise their Fire tax to 10 mills and their EMS tax to 5 mills. Currently in the Borough Code, boroughs in all other counties are limited to 3 mills for their Fire tax and .5 mills for their EMS tax.

If a borough in one of these three counties chooses to raise their Fire tax, they are statutorily obligated to provide a copy of the ordinance to the Office of the State Fire Commissioner and the Local Government Commission within 14 days of passing the ordinance. An eligible borough that chooses to increase their EMS tax above .5 mills must provide a copy of the ordinance to the Department of Health and the Local Government Commission within 14 days of approving the ordinance. Please be aware that boroughs must also include this information on their Tax Information Form submitted to DCED each year.

For more information on this topic, please contact Ron Grutza at rgrutza@boroughs.org or Logan Stover at lstover@boroughs.org. 

To contact the Local Government Commission, please email LGC@palegislature.us or call them at (717) 787-7680.

To contact the State Fire Commissioner’s Office, please email them at robsnyder@pa.gov or call them at 717-651-2201.

To contact the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of EMS, please email them at paemsoffice@pa.gov or call them at 717-787-8740.