Franklin holds line on taxes
WAYNESBURG – Franklin Township supervisors approved their tentative 2016 budget Monday that holds the line on taxes and proposes a slight decrease in overall spending in anticipation of the closing of the Emerald Mine.
The budget lists spending at $1,953,426, a decrease from the current year by about $132,359.
The supervisors decided to cut back slightly on spending because of concerns regarding assessment values and the potential impact from the closing of the Emerald Mine, township secretary Carol Kraft said.
The township has not received its assessment values for the coming year from the Greene County Assessment Office and so it’s not yet sure of the impact, she said.
Spending in the proposed budget remains fairly on par with the current year, Kraft said. A slight increase was earmarked for wages and benefits, though wage increases for the coming year have not yet been decided by the supervisors.
The supervisors did earmark $100,000 for a capital improvement fund they created last year. The money will be used to cover the costs of water projects in areas that may not be eligible for Community Development Block Grant funding.
CDBG money can only be used for projects that benefit low- and moderate-income residents.
The supervisors also included $250,000 in the budget to make repairs to the township’s shop building, the garage behind the municipal building.
The township expects to receive about $400,000 in Act 13 impact fee money, all of which will be used for roads, Kraft said.
It also will get $333,332 in liquid fuels money from the state, an increase of $41,135. All liquid fuels funds also will be earmarked for roads.
Of the township’s 1.28-mill property tax, 0.75 of a mill is earmarked for the general fund, 0.17 for machinery and 0.36 for fire protection. Property taxes have remained unchanged since 1988, when the supervisors adopted a tax for fire protection following approval of the tax in a ballot referendum
The general fund is budgeted at $1,807,326; fire tax fund, $94,700, and machinery fund, $51,400.
On the revenue side, total tax income is expected to be about $18,395 less than this year. The township expects to receive $345,000 from property taxes, $800,000 from the earned income tax, $75,000 from real estate transfer tax and $62,000 for building permits.
In other business, the supervisors approved a resolution regarding use of the township’s 2015 Community Development Block Grant money.
The township expects to receive $107,624. The money will be combined with money left over from the previous year CDBG allocation to extend a water line about two miles on Orndoff Road. The line will stretch from Route 218 to Sugar Run Road.
This is the first year a single application for the county and all CDBG-eligible municipalities in the county is being prepared by the county.
Crystal Simmons, the county’s CDBG coordinator, attended the meeting to discuss a proposed agreement between the township and county on the administration of the funds.
The proposed fee for the county to administer the township’s program will be 10.2 percent, the same amount the township previously paid in administrative costs, Simmons said.
The supervisors thanked Boy Scout Hunter Cole, who as part of a project for his Eagle Scout badge has been planting trees and grass at the kayak ramps the township is installing on Ten Mile Creek, one at Crawford Park and the other at the Route 188 park. Cole, 17, the son of Richard and Staci Cole, also told the supervisors he is still trying to obtain donations to provide two picnic tables for the sites.