Manor Supervisors Begin Planning 2016 Budget
Manor Township supervisors, Township Secretary Jill Davis and Road Foreman Bob Southworth surround the table yesterday morning to begin working on the various 2016 budgets. There are two more budget workshops scheduled for next month.
by Jonathan Weaver
Supervisors began discussing the Manor Township 2016 funding plan yesterday morning.
During about a two-hour budget workshop, Supervisors Jim McGinnis, Paul Rearick and Pat Fabian sat down with Township Secretary Jill Davis and Road Foreman Bob Southworth to discus and make sure several budgets are balanced – including street lighting, fire hydrants and capital reserve funds.
Currently, in unappropriated capital reserve funds, supervisors can access more than $230,000 but do not plan to spend any more during the last four months of 2015.
Using that monetary figure, and adding more due to interest and Act 13 Marcellus Shale impact fee allocations, supervisors began making plans for how to spend the money in 2016.
Manor Township received a nearly-$78,500 Marcellus Shale impact fee allocation in 2014 - its lowest in the past four years – but Rearick and Davis expected the allocation total to continue to decline based on the number of gas wells being drilled in the municipality.
According to the Public Utility Commission, there are 10 eligible wells in the municipality.
Supervisors estimated less than $300,000 total will be available during the course of 2016, with allocations available in June.
Still, Rearick and Davis agreed that the Act 13 money has been used wisely during the past four years.
“We’ve done very well with it, and I think we’ve done well to conserve it,” Rearick said. “It’s come in very handy for us. We used it wisely in my opinion.”
With that figure in mind, Southworth proposed that supervisors budget in the coming years about $140,000 for a new truck and more for a salt bin and tar buggy.
After discussion and careful planning, supervisors decided to dedicate about $82,000 for the purchases using liquid fuels funding, hopefully to purchase both within two years.
McGinnis (the former Road Foreman) disagreed that the current truck could be traded in for about $20,000 due to the vehicle’s mileage based on prior experience with other vehicles.
Supervisors also set aside money for driveway reconstruction outside the township fire department and engineering services in case grant funds are received.
About $11,000 of the 2016 funding will also be dedicated to decals for the new police cruiser received before the new Armstrong Junior-Senior High School opened.
Supervisors first discussed utilizing Act 13 allocation money toward a police vehicle when discussing the 2013 budget, but held off due to the condition of the vehicles and the expectation for a similar allocation in July 2013.
Supervisors will continue discussions on the tax millage allocated toward the township fire department and the General Fund during their next budget workshop at 8AM October 5.
Another workshop a few weeks later might allow supervisors to approve their preliminary budget before the November regular meeting and then allow for public inspection.
Manor Township | jweaver September 29, 2015
