Comments from your Township Supervisor Al Ochadleus
As we begin 2010 as individuals and Township Officials our hope is that the roller coaster economic situation that has affected everyone of us will be short lived. However I do not see this challenging period being over for the foreseeable future. There is evidence that things may worsen further and push the recovery well into the next decade. Everyone needs to know that roughly 30% of the Township’s annual budget comes from State Revenue Sharing (a portion of sales tax we all pay throughout the year). There has been a dramatic decrease in Revenue Sharing over the past few years due to the economic conditions within our state and nation.
Your Township Board realizes that the status quo will not work as we deal with rising expenses with limited dollars. The Board realizes that to assure financial viability we must identify means for further increasing cost-effectiveness and productivity.
Your Township Board is currently reviewing budget forecasts for the next five years with an eye to ensuring that the services that you expect will be unaffected. Thanks to your support over the years for passing a Fire Millage and a Public Safety Millage (fire, police and ambulance) you can be assured that these services will not be dramatically affected.
The Board is reviewing every budget line item so as to make the necessary changes now vs. waiting until there is a true financial crisis upon us. The Township spends roughly 20% of our annual budget on roads. The current road budget is $194,000. Included in that cost is cross culverts replacement, addition of new gravel, edge of road mowing and ditching, plus other needs of our non-primary road system in the Township. One area that will be affected will be the number of full brinings on our gravel roads. It should be noted that it currently costs approximately $13,000 per brining. The Township normally does two full brinings a season. For the season of 2010 our intent is to do one full brining then spot specific roads based on need and condition-most likely gravel roads with a traffic count above 350 cars per day. Additionally the Board is reviewing all contracts to see where we can cut back and reduce expenses.
The Board and I welcome your input, please feel free to contact any Board member or myself. My home phone number is 810-664-9720 and my cell number is 810-441-7524.