DuBois Erased the City-Township Line. Why Didn't Everyone's Costs Change the Same Way?

At a recent DuBois City Council meeting, someone asked during public comment for an update on the city's review of water billing. City Manager Joseph Fleming said the review was still underway and that any findings would go to council before the public heard them. Then Mayor Barry Abbott answered for the room, as The Courier Express reported: "The short answer is nothing has changed."

That exchange shows where the new City of DuBois stands about nine months in. The former City of DuBois and Sandy Township officially became one municipality on Jan. 5, 2026. There is now one tax rate and one utility rate schedule. But the two sides started from different places, so the merger moved costs in opposite directions. Former township owners took the bigger property tax increase. Former city households took the bigger jump in water usage rates. If you're comparing two houses a mile apart on either side of the old line, that history is part of what each one costs to own.

One Millage Rate, Two Very Different Increases

Before consolidation, the two governments taxed property at different rates. While council was reviewing the budget, the former city's municipal rate was reported at 11.75 mills and the former township's at 9.125 mills. Managers first proposed 14.75 mills. They cut about $600,000 from the General Fund, without eliminating positions, and brought it down to 13 mills. Council approved the 13.000-mill rate on a 4–3 vote, after a motion for 13.75 mills failed by the same margin.

Moving everyone to a single rate meant very different increases depending on where an owner started.

The 13 mills is split four ways: 11.340 for general government, 0.500 for the library, 0.340 for recreation and 0.820 for debt service. During budget review, Co-City Manager Lisa Hagberg pointed to less than a month of operating cash and a $900,000 minimum payment owed to the police pension. Councilman Richard Whitaker noted that city taxes hadn't gone up in nearly two decades.

The County and School Layers Didn't Widen the Gap

The municipal levy is only one of three lines on the bill. In 2026, the other two either went up for everyone or held steady, so the municipal change is what separates the two sides.

Clearfield County raised its 2026 rate to 16 mills from 13.5. The Progress reported that commissioners called the increase necessary to balance a lean budget as costs rose and some state and federal funding fell. The DuBois Area School District went the other way. Its board voted 7–0 for a $79,356,193 budget for 2026–27 and kept the Clearfield County rate at 47.68 mills.

Here is how it adds up for a home in the Clearfield County part of the school district with $100,000 of assessed value, before any exemptions or relief:

1. City: 13.000 mills, or $1,300
2. County: 16 mills, or $1,600
3. School district: 47.68 mills, or $4,768
4. Combined: 76.68 mills, or $7,668

For that same assessment, the 2026 increase works out to about $375 on the former city side and about $637.50 on the former township side. The school district held its rate, so all of the difference comes from where each municipality started.

Water Rates Moved the Other Way

Utilities reverse the picture. The city's February 12, 2026 utility rate release set water usage at $16 per 1,000 gallons. That was no change for former Sandy Township customers but an increase from the former city's $10.50. Wastewater went to $22 per 1,000 gallons, up from $19 in the former city and $18.50 in the township.

The release also merged the old add-on fees into new monthly "Debt Service" charges of $15 for water and $20 for sewer. Before, the township charged a $12.50 sewer maintenance fee. The former city charged residential surcharges of $10 for water and $5 for sewer.

As an illustration only, take a former city household using 4,000 gallons a month and apply the published rates:

For a former township household using the same amount, water usage stays at $64. Sewer usage goes from $74 to $88, and the fixed charges are now the same $35 that everyone else pays. The usage rates are tiered, and the $16 water rate covers only the first 100,000 gallons, so heavier users and commercial accounts can see lower rates per gallon.

The city explained the increases plainly. It said the water treatment plant "has not had major work completed in decades," the reservoirs need significant work, and the new wastewater treatment plant, about an $88 million project, comes with large debt payments. According to the release, the wastewater rates are required under financing and regulatory commitments made when that project started.

Trash collection has its own story. Recent reporting put the standard refuse charge at $30 a month. The senior rate went from $16 to $22, according to the city manager quoted in The Courier Express.

The Billing Fix Still Hasn't Reached the Bill

The numbers above come from the rate schedule. The other variable is how usage gets counted. In March, GantNews reported that then co-interim manager Ben Kafferlin described a long-standing practice in the area. Usage built up on an account without a charge until it passed 1,000 gallons, and then the whole amount was billed at once. The same report said the former township had no records of meter sizes, so the new city had been billing every customer as if they had the same meter size.

In the spring, council reviewed an ordinance meant to fix this. It would have:

• Billed monthly for actual usage, so 500 gallons would cost $8 instead of the full 1,000-gallon charge
• Matched the water and sewer usage tiers to each other
• Tied debt-service fees to meter size, which would cut the average residential sewer charge from $20 to $15
• Created a temporary hardship credit of up to $200 in sewer bill credits over 12 months for qualifying households

Then the software got in the way. The city's meter-reading system and its billing software couldn't yet work together, so officials temporarily locked in the existing rate structure and named July billing cycles as a tentative target. At a council meeting covered by WJAC on Aug. 20, 2026, officials said about 2,000 water meters weren't sending readings the way the billing system needs them. They said the meters are more than 20 years old and will eventually cost almost $3 million to replace. Public Works Director Scott Farrell told the meeting:

"Trying to get all the meters to read down to the gallons is not a simple project. It shouldn't have been promised to the public and it's been a nightmare for us to try to handle."

The most recent reporting we found describes the review as ongoing, with no changes announced and no start date set. None of the coverage we found reports that the new ordinance was adopted. That leaves the February rates and the $20 sewer debt charge as the last published schedule we could locate, and the $15 charge as a proposal.

Treasure Lake Shares the Tax Rate but Not the Pipes

Treasure Lake is in the former Sandy Township, so it falls under the new city's 13-mill rate. Its water and wastewater come from Aqua Pennsylvania, which has served the community since 2013. The city's February release says directly that Treasure Lake's utility systems are separate and aren't affected by its rate changes. So a Treasure Lake buyer saw the township-side tax increase but none of the city's utility changes. Aqua's rates follow their own process through rate cases and settlements.

What Could Still Change Before 2027

Three open items could change these numbers again.

The first is pensions. In March, officials said the non-uniform pension plan was underfunded by $6.3 million, which adds $1.3 million to the city's required minimum payment. The police plan is funded ahead of schedule. When the 2026 budget passed, Kafferlin cautioned that it left little room for error and relied on optimistic revenue assumptions, including asset sales.

The second is a possible stormwater fee. Consultants presented a fee based on paved or roofed area and estimated $10 to $15 a month for a typical home. Setting one up usually takes about a year, and no action was taken. If adopted, it would move stormwater costs out of the property tax-funded General Fund. A mostly grassy lot would pay less than a fully paved lot of the same size.

The third is the 2027 budget. Work began in August, with officials describing the city as being in a "reasonable position" at midyear and saying major expenses were still ahead. No 2027 figures had been released as of the latest reporting. Joe Fleming, hired as the permanent city manager effective July 6, 2026, will put that budget together.

Quick Answers

Did the school tax rate change for 2026–27? No. The DuBois Area School District kept its Clearfield County rate at 47.68 mills and its Jefferson County rate at 33.86 mills.

What other city taxes apply in 2026? The 2026 tax resolution keeps a 0.5% earned income tax, a 0.5% realty transfer tax and a $52 local services tax for qualifying employees. City real estate taxes paid within two months of the notice get a 2% discount. Taxes still unpaid after four months carry a 10% penalty.

Does a seller's old water bill show what a buyer will pay? Not reliably. A bill from before February 2026 used the old rate structures, and bills since then have been affected by the meter and billing issues the city has acknowledged publicly.

At Nelson Realty, we work these 2026 tax and utility numbers into every comparison we prepare for DuBois and Treasure Lake. If you're weighing a house on one side of the old city-township line against one on the other, or want to know how the changes affect your own home's value, reach out to search listings or request a free home valuation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.