By Susan Bromley
Staff Writer
Brandon Twp.- No more road chloride, a single-employee volunteer parks and recreation department, and elected officials salaries cut in half were some of the ideas discussed at the most recent township budget workshop meeting on March 22.
‘We looked at what could be cut in a worst-case scenario,? said Clerk Jeannie McCreery, who besides proposing the reduction of her position’s salary as well as the treasurer and supervisor’s to to roughly $25,000 per year, also suggested a possible sale of the Seymour Lake Cemetery.
The workshop was the second of several strategic planning meetings being facilitated free-of-charge by Sheila Ronis, an associate professor of management at Walsh College. The township board is hoping to develop a 3-year budget with the workshops. Like other municipalities around the state, the township faces shortfalls with decreased revenue and increased costs.
Treasurer Terry Beltramo said Tuesday the township is contending with an operating budget deficit between $150,000-$200,000. Property tax revenue is expected to decrease by 15.5 percent.
‘It’s a projection, we don’t really know yet,? said Beltramo. ‘Our fund balance is basically gone, it’s very low. Sooner or later, we will have to do something drastic, because we keep going down.?
Non-mandated services were a focus of discussion at the latest workshop, with boardmembers and Ronis discussing the parks and recreation department, senior center, road chloride, cleanup, road repairs, and employee wages and benefits, and consolidation of the planning department into the supervisor’s office.
McCreery suggested the board pass a resolution in 2013, that the three elected officials be reduced to half their salary, with no benefits, saving the township about $80,000 (the current officials do not use the benefits package). A sale of the Seymour Lake Cemetery would save the township about $10,000, she also noted, but she is not sure if that can be done.
Another potential savings could be moving the building department duties over to the supervisor’s office and making the full-time administrative assistant position part-time so that there would be a full-time clerical employee and part-time clerical employee in the supervisor’s office handling the duties of both departments, McCreery explained.
Supervisor Kathy Thurman said during the meeting that she believed the board should concentrate on what could be done first before cutting services.
Possible revenue streams mentioned include adding an administrative fee for tax bills, charging a copy fee, and a possible licensing fee to do business in the township.
‘We don’t want to nickel and dime people,? said Trustee Tom Stowell.
The next strategic planning workshop is planned for 5 p.m., April 26, at the library, 304 South St.