Budget Approved, Shade Tree Board Getting Funds

The township council unanimously approved the Thursday, as well as amendments made to the way some of the information is reported.

“I commend the administration and everyone who worked on the budget,” said councilman Matthew Moench. “I thought it was a very good budget. It was a tough year, and I am proud to support this.”

Director of Finance Natasha Turchan said the amendments being approved by the council did not represent any changes in numbers, only in the reporting of some of the figures.

“There were no measured changes in the budget, just some state requirements with how information is reported,” she said.

The only public comment came from Shade Tree Board chairwoman Barbara Ronca, who had spoken at a previous meeting about the lack of funding available in the budget for the board’s annual Arbor Day celebration.

At the March 17 meeting, Ronca came before the board to express her concerns about a lack of funding for the board to hold some of its programs.

“We are a volunteer committee, and we serve quite a few needs,” she said. “We not only meet the needs of maintenance preservation, but we do educational programs on Arbor Day and we answer resident complaints.”

In previous years, Ronca had said, the board had a line item in the budget for funds.

“It was funds to do what we normally did, and in the past few years, it’s been taken away,” she said.

In 2010, Ronca said, the board was told there would be no money to continue the Arbor Day program, which involves bringing tree seedlings to students, and teaching them about the trees. But fortunately, she said, the board found a corporate sponsor who funded the program.

And in 2011, Ronca said, the board was facing the same dilemma.

“We were informed we don’t have any dollars except professional membership dollars,” she said. “We cannot do the Arbor Day program or other programs throughout the township without the money.”

At Thursday’s meeting, Ronca said the board was fortunate enough to find a private sponsorship for half of the funding, and only needed another $450 to be able to pull off the program this year.

Council president Howard Norgalis asked Turchan whether there was $450 in any of the township’s reserves that could be put toward the program, to which she replied it would be possible.

“A lot has been done by the board, and a lot of work as been done on this over the years,” Norgalis said. “You will have your trees.”

Aside from this, there were no questions or changes to the budget.

The budget itself reflects a decrease of 0.9287 percent over the 2010 budget, but about $20.3 million will have to be raised through taxes, an increase from the $19.46 million needed last year.

Property taxes for a home valued at $410,000 will include an increase of $44.

The budget as a whole has revenue decreases in areas including surplus, state aid and delinquent taxes, and unions have made concessions that made increases in costs for employees almost zero.