MADISON TOWNSHIP — Madison Township trustees approved four resolutions in a special meeting Friday afternoon allocating its remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Those approved expenditures include:
- $14,950 for a new plow truck for the road department
- Versatile voiceover internet protocol (VoIP) one-time fees and labor costs of $1,518.98 for the installation of two callboxes — one at each fire station.
- $4,345 for five desktop computers and installation costs for the fire department
- Approximately $76,571.34 in administrative costs for statutory salaries for four employees
Madison Township was awarded $938,778.99 from ARPA, signed into law in March 2021. As of Friday, the township has allocated all of its funds.
Trustees also approved a number of ARPA resolutions at their most recent meeting. Fiscal officer Leanna Rhodes said some salary figures from one of Friday’s resolutions may change slightly after the last pay period of the year.
“When we get the final numbers after the last pay period, we will most likely come back and amend these numbers,” Rhodes said. “There’s a lot of work involved in the OPERS deductions and predicting some variables.”
Trustee Jim Houser, who announced his resignation from the post of trustee due to a cancer diagnosis, elected to accept two statutory raises during his term — totaling more than $14,000 since 2022. Former trustee Cathy Swank also elected to accept a statutory raise in 2022.
Rhodes said the township will have spent approximately $76,571 in the 2024 calendar year on statutory salaries for Houser, herself, the assistant fiscal officer and zoning inspector.
Trustees Tom Craft and Dan Fletcher each declined the additional sum when given the opportunity. Rhodes also earned temporary, additional pay as a result of ARPA funds.
The nearly $1 million in ARPA funds pushed Madison Township into a $6 million+ operating budget for 2022 and 2023, allowing trustees to decide whether to accept higher trustee salaries based upon Ohio Revised Code salary regulations.
In other news, Fletcher said he and Craft want to interview candidates and appoint someone to Houser’s seat in the new year. Houser was elected trustee in 2017 and re-elected in 2021.
If someone is appointed to his term, they would serve through the end of 2025.
