Township Considers Much Needed Tax Relief for Residents and Businesses

At its meeting of March 30, 2020, the West Manchester Township Board of Supervisors voted to approve Resolution 20-13 which extends the payment deadline for businesses within the Township to file their returns for the business privilege/mercantile tax from April 15, 2020 to July 15, 2020.  The business privilege/mercantile tax is applicable to both the wholesale and retail receipts of businesses that operate within the Township.

At this same meeting, the Board became one of the first York County municipalities to address tax relief for its residents as they discussed measures to provide some relief to Township residents with the payment of the local real estate tax.  The consensus of the Board was to virtually eliminate the penalty provision of the taxes which would begin on June 15, 2020.  Action was delayed due to the fact that the county and municipal taxes are all submitted to the elected tax collectors at the same time and this may cause confusion for both the taxpayers and tax collectors if all of the York County entities do not agree on the assessment of the penalty.

The Board of Supervisors encourages all municipalities to act diligently in signaling their agreement to such measures to provide the uniformity that is necessary to provide appropriate tax relief to residents.

The Board also directed Township staff and the Solicitor to continue to research tax relief possibilities and move forward with any necessary legal requirements in order to take action at a future meeting.

The Township understands the severe financial, as well as other impacts, the COVID-19 coronavirus is having on our residents.  The Board will continue to investigate all possible methods to continue to provide financial relief to our residents.

West Manchester Township will open submitted bids for Township road material and services on Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 10 a.m.. The bid opening will be prodcast live on the Township Parks and Recreation Facebook page as well as the West Manchester Township Fire Department Facebook website.

Since Penn Waste enacted the suspension of bulk item collection and yard waste collection, we have been getting many inquiries regarding the reasoning behind this suspension. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, as you know, many businesses have been ordered to shut down. Penn Waste is an essential service that must continue operating. Although we must keep operating, our workforce has been limited due to various reasons, including virus concerns by employees, testing for the virus, childcare, etc.

In order to complete our role of removing items that have the largest impact on public health, we as a company, have decided to focus on the collection of waste and recycling only. Bulk item and yard waste collection have little impact on public safety, so these services have been suspended temporarily. While we understand that residents may have a need to dispose of these items, the primary focus of our workforce must be on the collection of waste, and second on recycling.

While it may be an inconvenience for the time being, please encourage residents to hold bulk items. If they absolutely must get rid of these items, consider directing them to your local solid waste authority to see if they are accepting bulk items at this time for drop off.

We would encourage yard waste to be handled at home. There are many ideas for home composting, grass cycling and other ways to handle yard waste on our website and earth911.com. Encourage residents to take a moment to check out these great resources for these items.

All of us here at Penn Waste are doing everything in our power to ensure collections occur. Please be patient with us in this difficult time. Thank you.

**Please Note, residents may take yard waste (ONLY branches, twigs, and small tree stumps) to H&H Excavating in Spring Grove at no cost. You can also take large bulk items to York County Solid Waste Authority on Blackbridge Rd., York, and there is a cost for drop off at this facility.**

Gov. Tom Wolf just issued a stay-at-home order for York County effective 8pm TONIGHT through April 6, 2020. Under this order, individuals must stay at home except to perform certain essential activities – including tasks to maintain health and safety, obtain supplies for the household, care for a family member or pet, and perform work at a life-sustaining business.

https://perry.house.gov/

To learn more about what this order means for you, visit https://www.governor.pa.gov/…/03.23.20-Stay-At-Home-Order-G…

The township administration offices will be closed until further notice.

Essential township service personnel such as police, fire and highway will still be operating.

If you are experiencing an emergency please dial 911.

Township administrative staff is still checking email and voicemail as well as reporting to the Township office on an “as needed” basis. Residents may still call the Township office at 717-792-3505 and leave a message for the department to which they need to speak or can also e-mail Township personnel using the directory on the Township website.

There may be a delay in returning phone calls or e-mails, but Township staff will strive to respond to all requests.

Thank you for your patience.