By Amber Cox
SPRINGFIELD The Township Council unanimously adopted its $3.7 million 2011-12 municipal budget with a tax levy of $1.6 million on May 11.
Residents assessed at the average $321,400 will pay 37.9 cents per $100 of assessed value for a total of $1,218.11 in municipal taxes, an increase of $64.
The current tax rate is 35.9 cents per $100.
The budget doesn’t require any layoffs or furloughs and maintains all of the services the township offers.
”It doesn’t reduce any of the services that we provide to the public,” Councilman David Frank said. “It doesn’t reduce the funds we provide to each of the fire companies or the emergency squad.”
Salaries and wages for the township are projected at $968,986, a decrease of $17,354.
Mr. Frank said the township will continue collecting trash and continue the 24-hour, seven days a week, police service it currently supplies.
However, Mr. Frank said he wishes the township had more money to fund things like road maintenance.
”Every year, I say that’s important,” he said.
When the budget was introduced, Mayor Denis McDaniel said “we have a responsibility up here to try to be conservative.”
”I think everybody knows we try to do that but we can’t save forever so we do have a slight tax increase this year,” he said.

