MADISON TOWNSHIP ─ Madison Township trustees approved the township’s 2021 permanent budget at $3,828,047.61 on Monday evening, with an objection from trustee Dan Fletcher.
The budget was increased by $50,000 after a discussion about buying a tractor for the road department prior to the vote. The number is slightly less than last year’s initial appropriation, which was more than $3.9 million.
According to Leanna Rhodes, the township’s fiscal officer, the 2021 budget takes up close to 69 percent of all available appropriations. It is also more than 13 percent of the total estimated revenue.
The township appropriated $141,081 for its general fund. The number is more than 17.9 percent of the revenue, which Fletcher said was alarming. He said if the township continues with the same level of the general fund in the future, its financial condition will get worse again.
He suggested adjusting the trustees’ salary that was appropriated for $41,700. He brought up the same issue in a previous meeting but did not have any support from other trustees.
Former trustee Tom Craft also raised concern about the budget during public comment. He said the township would be overspending $4 million a year and treading on thin ice.
Trustee Catherine Swank asked if the township will receive any money from American Recovery Plan, the latest COVID-19 relief fund passed by Congress earlier this month.
Rhodes said the Ohio Township Association notified her that the organization is investigating the issue. The money went to the cities so far and did not come down to the townships.
The trustees also briefly discussed a payment issue for its 2020 road resurfacing project in the meeting. They found the township paid $17,732.80 more than the bid price to the contractor, Shelly & Sands, Inc. The company sent the trustees a letter last week and said the additional charge resulted from extra work put into the project.
Fletcher said Shelly & Sands, Inc charged the township the same price for the additional work and all the money was used on the roads. The township should leave the issue alone since it paid the bill already.
He also said the township administration has to be more astute and pay closer attention to what contractors are doing. Chairman trustee Jim Houser and Swank agreed with that opinion.
Additionally, zoning inspector Wayne Liggett said Madison Township has started to require property owners to apply for a permit when putting up a fence on their land. Applicants should contact the zoning inspector’s office at 419-589-5544 on Mondays. Each permit will cost $30.
