No Tax Increase Planned in Manor Township
Manor Township Supervisors Don Palmer and Bob Southworth approved the tentative budget for 2017 last night. The budget is expected to balance without any tax increase but will double the police budget, according to Palmer.
by Jonathan Weaver
With $1.4 million available to Manor Township supervisors in 2017, township supervisors do not plan to raise taxes next year.
After a pair of special meetings to review the six fund budgets and calculate a tentative budget, taxes are projected to remain at six mills.
Taxes haven’t been raised in more than a dozen years.
The tentative budget was approved by Supervisor Vice-Chair Bob Southworth and Supervisor Don Palmer. Chair Paul Rearick was absent.
It was Supervisor Palmer’s first budget process with Manor Township.
“I think this budget process went very well. We moved a lot of things around to clear money from some areas and move it into more-priority areas. It worked out very well, and we’re happy to report that we’re not going to have to raise taxes,” Palmer said. “The very last thing I’d ever want to consider is raising taxes.”
A single mill of township taxes will go toward the volunteer fire department as usual.
Last year, according to a document submitted by Fire Department First Lieutenant and Treasurer John Breski, the fire department received about $46,500. A majority of that (more than $13,700) went toward miscellaneous truck expenses, and more than $9,000 each went toward the fire hall along Byron Street and the new engine.
Officials expect to pay about $963,000 in expenses across the general fund budget in 2017.
More money is expected to be paid this year for, among other things, more police coverage and Senate Engineering projects. The police department budget makes up about $150,000.
Officers are expected to patrol the municipality up to 500 hours per month in 2017 – up from the 397 hours scheduled for November.
“Our schedule next year with that extra 100 hours will completely change. The (officers) will be out nights more, weekends more – it’s going to vary,” Sergeant Terry Bish said a few months ago after a budget workshop.
“The township’s moving forward in a lot of different ways. I’m very happy to see that,” Palmer added.
Each supervisor also wrote a five-year plan.
The tentative budget will be available for public inspection for the next 20 days. A final budget will be passed at the beginning of December.
Manor Township | jweaver November 3, 2016
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