Taxes

ON THE HOT SEAT – Members of the Fire District 3 Board of Commissioners at the July 9 Commission meeting. Representatives of the east Franklin Volunteer Fire Department and the Fire District 3 Commissioners will meet before the end of July to try to iron out a fire service contract that has been in dispute for months. That was the …

Resurfacing and sidewalk and curb improvements to nearly 100 streets in the township will be funded by a bonding ordinance approved at the June 11 Township Council meeting. The ordinance allocates $5.2 million of the overall $7.6 million capital improvement and equipment ordinance approved by the Council to the road program. The work also includes upgrades to the water and …

MAKING HIS POINT – East Franklin Volunteer Fire Department Chief Dan Krushinski gestures as he speaks to the Fire District 3 Commissioners during the June 11 Commission hearing. The Franklin Fire District 3 Board of Commissioners on June 11 granted a 60-day reprieve to the East Franklin Volunteer Fire Department to allow time for the two groups to compromise on a …

FIRE CONTRACT DISPUTE – Members of East Franklin Volunteer Fire Department are locked in a contract dispute with the Board of Commissioners for Fire District 3. A contract dispute that could affect fire protection services for about 30,000 township residents has devolved into an impasse for members of the East Franklin Volunteer Fire Company and the Fire District 3 Board …

An amended $71.8 million 2024 budget was passed by the Township Council at its May 28 meeting. The amended budget includes nearly $1.7 million in additional anticipated revenue, including about $1.5 million in state Department of Community Affairs money for Franklin Youth Center programs. Figures released by the Township in April showed that under the budget, the owner of a …

BUDGET EXPLAINER – Board of Education Business Administrator Stephen Fried explains the tax implications of the Board’s FY 2025 budget, approved at the April 25 meeting. The Board of Education on April 25 approved its $194.1 million FY 2025 general fund budget, which carries a small school portion tax increase. The newly minted budget is roughly $7 million more than …

RATE HIKE EXPLAINED – Mayor Phil Kramer explained the necessity of a water rate hike at the April 23 Township Council meeting. Water rates would increase nearly 17 percent under an ordinance amendment introduced at the Township Council’s April 23 meeting. The Township would also charge a water meter fee ranging from $4 to $257.25 per quarter, depending on the …

NUMBERS MAN – Township Manager Robert Vornlocker broke down the 2024 municipal budget at the April 9 Township Council meeting. Skyrocketing mandated costs are behind a small municipal portion tax increase included in the Township Council’s 2024 budget. Final numbers weren’t available at the April 9 Township Council meeting when the budget was introduced, but the bottom line is the …

TALKING NUMBERS – Schools Superintendent John Ravally reviews the preliminary 2024-25 school district budget at the March 20 Board of Education meeting. A steep cut in state aid and a multi-million dollar increase in charter school tuition presented stiff challenges, but school district officials said the proposed 2024-25 budget should only result in a minor increase in the school portion …

BUDGET TALKS – The Township Council held its second budget hearing of the year, a three-hour affair – on March 19. A hike in township water utility rates may be in the offing. If it comes to pass, the rate hike would be the second such increase in two years. A discussion about the water utility budget during the March …