Part Two

A township budget is more than a spreadsheet with columns and rows of numbers for expenditures and revenue.

Although the numbers in the proposed 2022 budget tell a story of what improvements Salisbury Township officials plan, between the lines of the numbers in the 115-page draft budget is a bigger picture.

This is especially evident in the “Executive Summary,” which starts on page 7 of the proposed budget. It’s the equivalent to the annual State of the Union address a United States president gives to the joint session of Congress.

The executive summary includes plans for the township administration, public works and police departments, as well the township volunteer fire companies.

Included in the budget are two new full-time administrative staff positions, that of instructional technology specialist and a full-time code enforcement rental inspector.

In the Salisbury budget, the executive summary is the state of the township. For Salisbury Township Director of Finance Paul Ziegenfus, who prepared the budget, it can be summed up in one word: COVID.

“Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic shone a bright light on the value of and need for high-quality government services and the ability to change course as needed,” Ziegenfus begins in his executive summary.

Ziegenfus identifies township needs in the following areas: increased community policing, infrastructure, maintaining and improving parks, township building repairs and maintenance and major capital improvements.

“Thankfully, the township received monies from the state and federal government to help cover lost revenue and many unexpected COVID costs over the past two years,” Ziegenfus said.

As with other municipalities, Salisbury has received funds through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also known as the COVID-19 Stimulus Package, the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law March 11 by President Joe Biden.

Salisbury received Federal ARPA funds totaling $1.45 million, with 50 percent received in 2021 and 50 percent to be received in 2022. The money is earmarked by the federal government for infrastructure, such as stormwater, sewer system and water system projects.

In Salisbury, $550,000 will be spent to mitigate stormwater runoff problems at Laubach Park. The work must be completed before other projects in the park’s master plan can proceed.

In his summary, Ziegenfus notes, “For the past several years, the public works department has not been fully staffed and parks, roads and other areas have suffered because of this.”

Vacant positions have been filled. Salisbury Township’s new Public Works Director James Levernier has developed a plan concerning maintenance of township buildings, parks and roads.

“Some of these areas have been ignored for several years and our biggest challenge will be to prioritize what gets done and what has to wait since we will need to figure out how to pay for everything over the next several years,” Ziegenfus said.

The proposed 2022 Salisbury Township budget, with a general fund of $11,077,907 and total expenditures of $21,821,909, begins to tackle this problem.

The township budget is supported by a millage increase, 0.50 of a mill, from 2.42 mills to 2.92 mills. The 0.50 mill increase is: 0.25 mill for township police hires and 0.25 mill for township capital improvements.

The township tax hike is, on average, $120 annually, or $10 per month, based on the township median residential property valuation of $235,000.

The township police department recently filled two vacant positions with the hiring of two police officers.

In the offing for the township are two new positions.

An in-house instructional technology (IT) position, estimated to cost $70,000 annually, is included in the proposed budget. The township will no longer contract for managed network services by a third-party vendor.

The IT specialist will be tasked with implementing body cameras for the police department, improve the security of township computer servers and data from cyber attacks, implement a new Geographic Information System for township departments, implement new fiber Internet services, move email and technology services to the cloud and stabilize the township infrastructure.

“The increasing needs of the township cannot be fully covered by utilizing a third-party contract that provides us with limited help-desk and infrastructure support,” Ziegenfus said.

“We have determined that we need a full-time in-house employee to tackle the ever-changing and growing technology needs of the township.

“For instance, two staff from the police department have dedicated at least half of their time to technology challenges and have not been able to do the job they were hired to do,” Ziegenfus said.

In the township community development department, a part-time code enforcement person was hired in 2020.

“We are unable to get everything done that is needed with a part-time person,” Ziegenfus said.

The part-time position would be eliminated. A full-time code enforcement-rental inspector would be hired at approximately $60,000 annually.

“This will allow us to get caught up on the rental inspection program implemented in 2021 and increase code enforcement activities in the township,” Ziegenfus said.

The Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners is next scheduled to meet 7 p.m. Nov. 23, instead of Nov. 25, which is the Thanksgiving Day holiday, in the municipal building, 2900 S. Pike Ave. The budget is expected to be finalized for adoption at the 7 p.m. Dec. 9 township meeting.

Next week: Salisbury Township 2022 budget, Part 3