Snip, snip, chop, snip.
Determined to keep as high a fund balance as possible in the township’s ‘Rainy Day Fund,? more than one board member has uttered the phrase in recent weeks.
‘Less is more.?
So Orion Township’s 2010 budget took a few big hits, especially painful for those laid off in the process.
But along with those big hits, the budget also received substantial, but careful, snipping. Lots of snipping.
As a result, the township was able to reduce a projected $800,00 dip into its fund balance to just $140,000.
The 2010 year-end fund balance is projected at $5,187,161.82, well over 100 percent of the projected 2010 total general fund expenditures of $4,892,340.
The general fund pays for township employee salaries, including those of elected officials, as well as building and grounds, parks and recreation, senior activities, elections, highways and streets, auditing and legal expenses and related items.
Clerk Penny Shults supports maintaining the much-higher-than-average fund balance; with such a cushion, some have suggested a tax break for residents, but Shults said such a break would hardly be noticeable.
‘It wouldn’t be much of a break (for the individual resident,? she said. ‘A movie and a pizza. Collectively, the impact is greater, and we’re better in the long run if we use the money the way it’s being used now.?
As a savings account, to prevent drastic cuts to core services in the coming years.
‘We haven’t seen a rainy day yet,? she said. ‘We don’t want to go broke; it needs to be a planned event when we spend those funds.?
Even if it means more work for her department?
Apparently.
A pink-slipped receptionist means all incoming calls are routed to the clerk’s office.
‘We get tons of phone calls,? said Shults. ‘A lot more than I bargained for, but we manage.?
Election time will be a challenge with phones ringing off the hook, she said, but noted other departments will pitch in and help out.
The less-is-more philosophy, after all, is already leading to more collaboration between departments.
‘We’re making daily decisions; are we going to buy it or are we going to see who already has one,? Shults said, noting requests for standard office supplies like binders and envelopes, are frequently sent flying around township offices. ‘I needed a lamp for my desk, so I went to the Salvation Army and bought one.?
More snipping: The township’s West Nile Virus program and the gravel road program have also been axed from the budget, at least for this year.
While neither is a vital service, Supervisor Matt Gibb admitted, yes, residents are likely to notice when the gravel roads show wear and no tablets are available to kill mosquitoes.
Less staff will also mean less care for township office grounds and certain township parks.
‘We’ll still be out, but we’ll focus on the areas with dominant use,? said Gibb, noting the parks and recreation Department is also working on self-sustaining ideas.
‘It’s a smart way to create a long term environment where we don’t have to worry about park funding,? Gibb said. ‘Although the parks are beholden to a lot of people, they’re not a core service, like water and sewer.?
A new Park Patron Program will allow people who pay for a membership to receive special perks like free refreshments, and early admittance to events.
In addition, Gibb said, Adopt-a Park agreements are in the works with local civic organizations.
‘It’ll help our budget and get the whole group invested in the community,? he said.