By Marcella Peyre-ferry
Intelligencer Journal
Copyright 2007 Lancaster Newspapers, Inc.
LANCASTER, Pa. — When Fulton Township supervisors gave the Robert Fulton Fire Company a new 50-year lease on the township property where the fire hall stands, neither side knew the fire company would be charged nearly $7,000 in taxes for the paperwork.
Supervisors approved the lease in early December. However, on Dec. 28 they said that, as they understand it, real estate transfer taxes totaling 1 percent for the township and school district and another 1 percent for the state were imposed because the lease was in excess of 30 years.
The value of the lease was calculated using a standardized formula, and each 1 percent was valued at $3,425.08.
Though the supervisors do not believe there is much chance the state will forgive the tax, the township could exonerate its portion of the tax if the fire company asks supervisors to do so. The board also speculated that the school district might be willing to forgive its portion of the tax if requested, particularly since there are three school buildings within the fire company’s service area.
“I don’t think there would be any reason why they wouldn’t consider it,” supervisor Glen Aument said.
Aument was disturbed by the unexpected tax, particularly because there was no transfer of title. The previous 50-year lease on the property would have run two more years before expiring, but the fire company needed a new lease and a right-of-first-refusal document from the township to obtain bank financing for construction of a new building.
“I hate to see $7,000 that could be spent on building materials going to a transfer tax when nothing was transferred,” Aument said.
In other business, the supervisors closed out the year for the township by giving final approval to the budget for 2007 in the amount of $564,496 for the general fund. No increase will be needed in the 0.21-mill township real estate tax.
The supervisors also discussed closing a short unnamed stub road off Peach Bottom Road. The township will advertise for a hearing to close the road during its Feb. 1 meeting.
According to Aument, the zoning hearing board has decided that even after it is closed, the road may be used as a driveway access to a proposed two-lot subdivision of the Clarence Wanger property.