Problems with Tax Collection Cause East Pikeland to Defer Donations

At its last meeting, the East Pikeland Board of Supervisors agreed to defer a total of $500 in donations to the French and Pickering Creek Conservation Trust and the Green Valleys Association due to difficulty in collecting taxes.

Chester County was one of two test counties in the state that went with countywide collection before it had to be implemented under Act 32 of 2008. Under the Act, instead of having individual taxing bodies select their tax collectors, meetings were held where local officials helped select a single countywide tax collector.

In Chester County, that chosen tax collector is Keystone Collections Group. Joining Lancaster County, the only other test county in the state, Chester County had a preview of what countywide collection will be like throughout the state—and it has come with its share of problems.

Ronald Graham, chairman of the East Pikeland Board of Supervisors, called the tax collection process in 2011 “a nightmare.”

“Everyone’s working hard but the bottom line is we’re not getting the tax revenue,” Graham said at a June 7 meeting.

Many school districts in the county formerly used Berkheimer to collect taxes and the switch over has been difficult for employers, municipalities and school districts. Graham noted that in his own small business, the switch in tax collectors caused some confusion.

East Pikeland has money in the bank to cover the estimated $500,000 to $600,000 its missing year over year. Comparatively, collections from this time in 2010 to now are down approximately 60 percent in East Pikeland Township.

“It’s a lot of money,” Graham said. “But we’re not alone. It isn’t just us.”

With the tax collection issues in mind, the board decided to put off two donations to the French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust and the Green Valleys Association. Both organizations had phoned the township inquiring about a donation, as the township annually gives money to the groups.

The total amount budgeted for donations is $500, according to Township Manager Kim Moretti. Graham said the donations should wait until the township is “on more sure footing with the tax collection.”

Township residents shouldn’t see any affects of the sluggish tax collection, and Graham said the situation seems to be improving.

“We will get through this without a noticeable problem,” Graham said. 

In other news, Al Cushman of the township's public works department gave a quick update on work on two bridges. 

Work on the Pickering Road bridge is "way ahead of schedule," Cushman said, and the bridge could be open as early as the end of August. The bridge is scheduled to open in December. 

Work on the Rapps Dam Road covered bridge is also progressing. That bridge is expected to reopen in November. 

“It’s a very tedious project down there because it’s historic,” Cushman said.