Township trustees took their first look at the $25 million spending plan for 2017 this week, but there was no fire levy talk.
Township residents likely won’t see a fire levy on their ballots in 2017, Trustee President Tom Farrell said, even though the fire fund for next year shows a $750,000-plus deficit and reserves for the fire department evaporating rapidly.
If the township’s budget remains status quo, the fire and EMS fund balance — initially estimated to be $1.1 million to start next year — will evaporate and put the fund into the negative to the tune of $233,439 by the start of 2018.
In June, trustees set the wheels in motion to put a tax levy on the Nov. 8 ballot. The trustees pulled back on the ballot question in August, saying with continued growth both on the commercial and residential front, they wanted time to gauge the true tax base.
“I don’t feel comfortable until we have all the figures and do our due diligence to be able to go out to our residents with this at this point,” Trustee Christine Matacic said then.
Farrell said he believes trustees need to postpone the ballot issue again because they will have a new fire chief — Paul Stumpf is retiring in September — coming soon and that person deserves the right to weigh in on the decision.
“If we are going to hire a new fire chief/safety director, we want their input on the fire levy, the value and if we need it,” Farrell said. “We thought it was irresponsible of us to make that decision, and then have the new fire chief inherit our decision.”
He said it might be possible to put a question on the ballot next November, depending on when they find a replacement for Stumpf.
For 2016, township officials are estimating Liberty Twp. will take in $6 million more in revenues than expected — the collection is predicted to reach just over $29 million for all funds — and anticipate a $2.8 million carryover. Preliminary numbers for next year set expenses at $25.1 million and revenues at $24.3 million. The township reserve going into 2017 for the general fund is just shy of $13 million.
With the township’s growth, leaders are finding they need to add more employees as well as address facilities issues. Twp. Administrator Kristin Bitonte pencilled in a marketing assistant, an administrative assistant and a co-op employee to work on various projects.
Finance Director Michelle Greis said the township has budgeted $100,000 for the three new positions, and that represents a 12-percent increase in personnel wages. The township added two new sheriff’s deputies to its contract with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office this year, and Trustee Christine Matacic said they may want to revisit that line in the 2017 budget to see if another increase is warranted.
“Taking a look at the (police) run volume since Liberty Center has been on board as well as additional businesses and residents that we’ve seen in this community, I think we need to take a serious look at our staffing levels,” she said. “Making sure, I know we do this every year, but I want to make sure we’ve got the best protection for our residents out there, within the budget obviously, and we also owe it to our businesses.”
Lt. Morgan Dallman, who is in charge of the sheriff’s office post in Liberty Twp., said calls for police services have increased from 13,184 calls in 2011 to 15,908 in the span of January through October this year. They responded to 18,307 calls — Liberty Center opened in October last year — last year and 17,282 in 2014.
Earlier this year the trustees and staff also tackled space needs. With future growth a certainty, trustees are trying to make long-term plans to right-size their facilities. Officials said they need to build a new service garage, to expand administration space and to build two new fire stations. Rough estimates were $10 to $11 million. Bitonte said she is still negotiating a contract with their architect, so those fees are not in the preliminary budget.
Farrell said now that they have narrowed down their options on the facilities plan, their architect can get started giving them hard numbers on the various projects. He said they will “pull the trigger” on at least the services garage — because many of the vehicles are now stored outside — next year. Trustee Steve Schramm agreed.
“It’s costing us a fortune right now with the stuff stored outside,” Schramm said. “We’re watching it rust.”
The trustees will vote on the final budget in December.
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