Liberty Twp. budget nearly balanced after cuts

The Liberty Twp. trustees passed a nearly balanced $29.7 million budget for next year that includes some major projects.

The trustees have known — and planned accordingly by building up reserves — they would need reserves to balance the books because of explosive growth. However, they didn’t want the revenues and expenses too far apart, so they opted to spend $633,000 on a regular engine rather than $1.2 million on a new ladder truck.

RELATED: Liberty Twp. budget showing growing pains

A new administration building/sheriff’s outpost, a $2 million project on Princeton Road and a new fire station are the big ticket items in budget approved this week, that will be supported by about $27.2 million in revenues. The township expects to carry over around $23 million, in all funds, from this year and more than $10 million is unrestricted funds.

Trustee Board President Tom Farrell answered the question about how long this unbalanced budget situation will last.

“The question was asked are your expenses going to be above your revenue indefinitely or is this a short-term thing,” Farrell said. “It definitely is a short-term, while we’re building out the things we have accrued for, the major projects.”

The township is one of the fastest growing places in Butler County and the state, quadrupling in population to about 40,000 residents over two decades.

Farrell said the staffs are looking into their maintenance program — those costs could increase — to see if they can get longer life out of their vehicles and pricing repairs for the ladder — that has been acting up — on the 14-year-old ladder truck they shelved.

Trustee Steve Schramm broached the subject of cutting the budget even more by delaying the Princeton Road project — it will be widened, the shoulders shored up, the curved surface flattened and berms installed — to see if grants could be culled. He was told that is a must-do project.

“I wasn’t happy about it…,” Schramm said. “I had assumed that we would find some grant money but I guess it just hasn’t become available and we couldn’t wait any longer. We’ve had at least one death and several severe accidents along that stretch.”

Township Administrator Kristen Bitonte is expecting the township to spend $2 million less than it budgeted for this year and noted the spending plan can change. The trustees must vote individually on budget items as they surface.

“We say it each year,” she said. “Just because an item or project is within the budget does not mean its purchase or approval is imminent.”

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