Millcreek Township Transition Plan
Millcreek voted in November 2025 to switch from three full-time supervisors to a five-member part-time council plus professional manager. This 34-page implementation plan covers the administrative code, staffing, budgets, public works, parks, police, fire, a 7-phase timeline, employee FAQ, and risk register. Built from public records, DCED data, GSC final report, and research on comparable PA municipalities.
Where Your Property Tax Dollar Goes
You pay $1.00 in property tax. 34.5 cents goes to the city. 17 cents to the county. 48.5 cents to the school district. But the county's share tells a different story when you look at what your property tax actually funds versus what state and federal money covers. 22.1 cents of every county property tax dollar goes to corrections. The county's total budget is $477M but only $104M comes from your property tax. This report shows where every cent goes. Updated with Erie County Council budget analysis.
Why Do My Property Taxes Keep Going Up?
Right now, Erie can only raise property taxes when it needs more money. A state law from 1965 caps the city's earned income tax at 0.50%. Home Rule would let the city raise the EIT on residents instead. Retirees on Social Security and pension income pay zero EIT. 23 other Third Class Cities in PA have Home Rule. Erie is the largest one that doesn't.
Two Cities. Same Problem. Different Decisions.
Lancaster adopted Home Rule in November 2024. In their first budget, they raised the EIT from 0.60% to 1.10% and held property tax flat. No hikes projected for a decade. Reading waited until the state declared them financially distressed. 13 years under Act 47. They now have a 3.10% city EIT and are still proposing a 9% property tax increase. Erie is at 0.50% with no Home Rule and no ability to change it.
Same State. Same Rules. Different Tools.
Four PA Third Class Cities. Same Act 511 constraints. Only one doesn't have Home Rule. Erie's city EIT is 0.50%. Lancaster's is 1.10%. Allentown's is 1.45%. Reading's is 3.10%. A $50K earner pays $250 in city EIT in Erie and $1,550 in Reading. Erie pays the least because the city has the least revenue to work with.
13,000 Years in 3 Minutes
From the French building a fort on a peninsula in 1753 to the manufacturing boom that made Erie a powerhouse to the decades of population loss and industrial decline. 15 chapters of Erie history with verified dates, population data, and the turning points that shaped the city. Includes the War of 1812, the railroad era, the GE years, the fall, and what's next.
