Springdale Township officials say they are getting an anticipated budget deficit under control.
When the 2024 budget was approved in December, township commissioners projected $2.3 million in expenditures but only $1.7 million in revenue, leaving roughly $600,000 to be covered by the township’s financial reserves.
Commissioner Tim Basilone said the township collected $685,000, or 76%, of the $895,000 in revenues projected for this year.
Of the amount collected, Basilone said, $479,000, or 42%, already has been spent. He said that leaves $206,000 on hand, with an estimated $210,000 still to be collected and $459,000 in the financial reserves.
“It looks like we have shrunk the budget,” Basilone said. “The needle is starting to go the other way, and it looks like we’re climbing out of the deficit.”
“We’ll be in a little bit of a deficit, but it’s not going to be $500,000,” he said, adding that any deficit this year probably will end up being between $50,000 and $100,000.
While the commissioners did not raise taxes this year, in May they approved increases for water, sewage and garbage rates, effective July 1. It’s something Chairman Rich Schwartz said had not been done for six years, despite increasing costs.
Sewage rates rose by 7% while water rates increased by 35% and garbage rates by 65%.
The commissioners said the idea behind the increases is to build a financial cushion to handle unforeseen maintenance costs, such as a sewer or water line collapse, rather than relying on support from the township financial reserves.
“Now, these will hold their own,” Basilone said. “By doing that mid-year, it allows us to reduce the deficits that much further.
“We’re probably going to come in around $800,000 in the fund balance, which is better than the $450,000 that was predicted.”
Basilone said the reason for that is $251,000 the supervisors set aside for road paving.
“We’re probably not going to pave any roads this year,” he said.
But he qualified that statement saying, “We may pave one or two this year, but we’ve got to see where we’re at.
“We’ve got costs under control and now we’re looking at revenues.”
That includes the possibility of obtaining grants for some expenditures, he said.
