Perkiomen Township Manager: No Tax Increase for Proposed Budget

The Perkiomen Township Board of Supervisors unanimously approved advertising the proposed 2012 budget, which presently shows no tax increase for residents.

The overall budget is about $3.4 million, which is an 8.1 percent increase from the 2011 budget. There are five components to the total budget: the general fund, street light fund, fire tax fund, liquid fuels fund and the hydrant tax fund.

The breakdown, according to Township Manager Cecile Daniel, is the following:

General Fund $2,317,906 -- This is a $19,219 increase from 2011; it will be covered by the reserves.
Street Light Fund $103,099 -- This is a $1,927 increase from 2011; it will be covered by the reserves.
Fire Tax Fund $403,200 -- This is a $49,950 increase from 2011. The reason for such an increase is due to the repaving of a portion of the parking lot located at the firehouse. It will be covered by the reserves.
Liquid Fuels Fund $487,867 -- This is a $182,225 increase from 2011. This is money that the township receives from the state and is used for the township roads. There will be an increase to a turnback and road swap that the township has been working on with PennDOT. For the township, that turnback would be Wartman Road. As part of the turnback process, the township obtained three quotes to make repairs to Wartman Road. PennDOT reviewed the quotes, and an offer was made to the township to cover the repairs to Wartman Road. The increase in this case would be covered by the monies received from PennDOT for the turnback.
Hydrant Tax $64,295 -- This is a $217 decrease from 2011.