Allegan Township Budget is Healthly

Expecting solid state revenue sharing, Allegan Township board members approved a 2011-2012 budget Monday, March 7, that bolsters the road and capital improvement funds.

Township supervisor Steve Schulz said, “That’s the first time I can remember ever doing that.

“It’s a fairly healthy budget.”

Schulz said he bases that assessment on expectations that the state’s budget will include a 2-percent increase in revenue sharing, as the governor has proposed.

“All indications are that revenue sharing will be intact or better,” he said.

Schulz said the recent census should bump up the township’s population by approximately 400, which in turn will increase revenue sharing by more than $25,000.

The budget includes general fund expenses of $741,638, a decrease of approximately $85,000 from the current year’s budget.

The contingency fund will have a projected $158,392.

The budget extends the salary freeze for township officials into a third year.

Other budget highlights:

• The township’s three road millages are expected to bring in more than $300,000; this budget supplements that with $50,000 from the general fund.
• $20,000 for township hall improvements. Township clerk Linda Evans said board members hope to enclose the area outside the hall’s main public entrance. “The idea is to make the front entry a little warmer and save on heat (from the draft accompanying people coming and going); it’s cold for those in line paying taxes.”
• $10,000 in recycling funds for leaf pickup, for a second year. Schulz said board members plan to pursue a ban on leaf burning in the more densely populated areas of the township. This money, paired with a $20 fee per pickup, will help subsidize the service.

The change to the ordinance is not yet in place, and won’t be until later in the year. The service was used occasionally last fall; township residents may schedule pickups as early as even this spring.

• $69,460 from the general fund will supplement the $53,500 brought in by the township’s .5-mill public safety millage to pay the township’s portion of fire district costs. That amounts to an increase of $5,000 transferred; Evans said falling property tax revenue from the millage was the reason.
• Per diem pay for planning commission members and zoning board of appeals members was increased from $35 to $55; chairmen of both boards will now receive $65. Schulz said those amounts were fair compared to other townships.

Article from Allegan County News
By Ryan Lewis
Editor
Wednesday, March 9, 2011 1:22 PM EST