Published: November 28, 2008 11:41 pm      

Richland avoids tax hike

Levy unchanged despite rising health-care costs

Counting on increased revenue from wage and business taxes to offset a whopping 22 percent hospitalization increase, Richland Township supervisors approved a tentative 2009 budget with no tax increase.

Health insurance will cost Richland about $560,000 next year, supervisors’ Chairman Melvyn Wingard said.

“As you can see, that’s a big part of our spending,” Wingard said.

This year, hospitalization benefits cost $458,130.

Absorbing that increase required some hard choices in other areas, administrative assistant Kim Stayrook said.

“We did it by holding the line on everything else,” Stayrook said.

Contributions to Highland Community Library and Richland Volunteer Fire Department, for example, will remain unchanged from this year, Stayrook said.

The spending plan includes salary increases of about 3 percent for police, highway workers and office staff.

Total expenses are projected to be $5,101,040 in the general fund, up from $4,943,368 this year. Additional revenues include a projected $50,000 increase from the township wage tax and $80,000 more in mercantile taxes. Business and income growth would bring more money without increasing tax rates, Wingard explained.

Real estate tax revenue remains unchanged at $1,093,893, with another $100,000 from a half-mill set aside for the capital equipment fund.

Four line items totaling $100,000 for a new dump truck represent the only major purchase expected this year, Wingard said. The expense will be split between the capital equipment fund, the public works department in the general fund, the contingency fund and the state liquid fuels tax allocation. 

“Even that probably won’t be enough,” Wingard warned, explaining that additional funds would have to be moved from other areas if the truck costs more than $100,000.