Susan Hendricks was pleased to tell Independence Township trustees at the Nov. 15 meeting there is very little money the state can continue to take away.
However, she also had to deliver the harsh news that without a new source of revenue, the township’s parks and recreation would be cut drastically in 2007.
‘The state has taken all the statutory state share revenues they can take from us,? said Hendricks, Independence Township finance director. ‘Pretty much everything balanced for 2006; however, that will change in 2007, especially for parks and recreation.?
For 2006, Parks and Recreation is slated to receive $1,882,900 in revenues. The department has requested $2,144,900 in expenditures ($1,015,827 for recreation, $769.673 for parks and $459,400 for the senior center), an amount held steady for the past four years.
According to Hendricks, the $262,000 parks and rec deficit will be covered this year by fund balance slowly built over the last few years.
‘We’ve cut back every year on parks and recreation to help save for when we knew this would happen,? explained Hendricks. ‘This is a one time thing. We can’t do this again.?
Hendricks said as of Dec. 31, 2004, Parks and Recreation has $604,000 in reserve. Although Hendricks will not have her 2005 audit until the coming spring, she anticipates the savings to go down slightly for that budget year, and has budgeted to use half of the remainder to cover the 2006 parks and rec deficit.
Hendricks said when planning the budget, she always encourages the township board to cover operating expenses with their incoming revenues. She said her advice is to use the fund balances for large projects or surprise expenses, never to run the township.
‘We need to keep some money in that fund,? said Hendricks. ‘By covering expenses in 2006, that would leave us just enough fund left there to handle any layoffs we would possibly have to do the following year.
‘Without an additional source of revenue, that department will be half of what it is now. It was very difficult for me to agree with using those funds for operation. We’ve simply bought ourselves time to decide what to do.?
‘What we are doing is a one stop, drastic measure,? said Township Treasurer Jim Wenger during the meeting. ‘There is no doing this again.?
In other township funds, the incoming revenues balanced almost even with expenditures. Several accounts showed deficits; however, Hendricks said most of those are because of carry over from the 2005 budget not yet included in the figures.
For example, the Fire Fund shows a $166,500 deficit. The amount is the cost of two ambulances being ordered by the department during the 2005 budget year (where the money is currently located), but not being able to pay for them until the 2006 budget.
Also, the Water and Sewer Funds include costs and revenues associated with the $22 million water system upgrades currently being completed.
‘Payroll has been going steadily up, operating has gone down to compensate and capitol is at a bare minimum,? said Hendricks at the meeting. ‘We’ve been making things work versus replacing things.?
In the overall budget, Hendricks said as of the 2004 audit, the township has $2.1 million in fund balance, or about 34 percent of the overall budget. Hendricks said this number is high because township trustees are preparing for upcoming expenses.
‘We’ve been trying to grow that number to prepare for larger projects in the future, like the new senior center and Sashabaw Road and such,? said Hendricks.
A public hearing was held and township trustees approved the proposed 2006 budget unanimously.