Addison Township Supervisor Bruce Pearson presented the board with an overview of the 2017-18 budget, describing it to be “in very good shape.”

“As you know I’ve projected many budgets and we’ve never gone over our budget. As of today, (we’ve used) only 40 percent of this budget and we have virtually three months left (in the fiscal year),” said Pearson at a Dec. 19 meeting.

The proposed budget contains a general fund of approximately $2.3 million.

Township employee wages are expected to increase by 2.5 percent.

“I know a lot of the other communities… have given much larger raises but I can’t do that. I have to manage our budget to make sure it’s in line and I think we owe it to the taxpayers to ensure that we’re in line with what we bring in. (Our employees) are loyal to us, so I think we should always take care of them when we can. I think 2.5 percent is more than reasonable for both sides,” said Pearson.

According to Pearson, budget carryover is expected to increase from $69,000 to $156,000 in the 2017-18 year– showing a growth of nearly $87,000.

Looking at the budget, Pearson said he expects to see revenue sharing decline by nearly $15,000.

He also added that revenue generated by the placement of a proposed cell tower on township property, near Hosner and Oakwood roads, could help offset that difference.

“We weren’t hitting what the state had projected the previous year. But we’ve been doing very well, so it’s not a concern at this time,” Treasurer Lori Fisher added.

Building department expenditures are projected to increase, although Pearson said it is unclear at this time by how much.

“(The township is) definitely in dire need of new equipment,” Pearson said. “Our server… we had somebody come look at it and they were amazed it was still operating… we’re going to have to spend some money to get the computers up-to-date. We’ll get specifications on that shortly and hopefully, we’ll get everything updated and improve the service.”

The 2016-17 fiscal year ends March 31.

A public hearing for the 2017-18 budget is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13.