Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners quietly adopted the 2014 budget Dec. 9.

The approved budget amounts to $19.7 million in proposed expenditures.

The unanimous vote by the seven-member board does not increase real estate taxes, which remain at 2.8 mills.. A resident with a property assessed at $175,000 will pay $490 in taxes next year.

During budget hearings and meetings, the board tweaked the original budget prepared by the administration. The commissioners granted a handful of clerical employees a slightly larger pay increase than initially proposed.

Mayor Edward D. Hozza Jr. in October called the budget "A Continued Investment in Technology, Equipment and Infrastructure."

The township will begin 2014 with a balance of $4,800,733, sufficient to pay bills and payroll until real estate tax revenues arrive.

In a separate vote, the commissioners adopted a $330 refuse collection fee for homeowners and a $370 fee for landlords. Both fees remain the same as they were in 2013.

Also, the commissioners kept the realty transfer tax, earned income tax, per capita tax, local services tax and the business privilege tax the same.