12 November 2014
Moon Township Board of Supervisors and its boards · 28 subject tags
The Board of Supervisors held its fifth budget workshop for 2015, focusing on the Administration, Tax Collection, Local Services Tax, and Liquid Fuels funds. No public comment was offered. The Finance Director led the line-by-line review. For the Executive Administrative budget, the board debated legal services spending. A supervisor noted costs were open-ended and suggested tracking all legal spending across departments. The board agreed to set the legal services line at $70,000, down from the proposed $75,000. The Finance Director said she would post a project-by-project legal cost spreadsheet to BoardDocs. On engineering fees, a supervisor asked to see bills to compare work by the Township Engineer versus outside engineers. The Finance Director noted vehicle maintenance costs were rising because a new vehicle was being used by multiple departments, and she proposed splitting the line item. Advertising costs were up due to three job postings at $1,200 each. The holiday/event fund was overspent due to a community development conference and retirement functions; the Finance Director increased it slightly. A supervisor asked if website enhancement included hosting; the Finance Director confirmed it did, noting a part-time employee maintains the site and may be made full-time. The building supervisor’s salary is split across departments; a supervisor questioned a 14% raise, which the Finance Director attributed to the union contract. Intergovernmental cooperation included $2,000 for boundary markers with Findlay Township; a supervisor stressed the need to mark boundaries before the Par Three Golf Course is redeveloped. Cleaning service supplies are now better documented, so the Finance Director increased that budget. Salary for clerical staff was decreased because new hires have lower salaries; the Assistant Township Manager said raises would be performance-based, not a flat 4%. Group health insurance was increased to cover a new staff accountant hire. Utilities were budgeted to actual costs. The administration budget showed a 0.8% increase. In the Tax Collection budget, the Finance Director noted the commission on current earned income tax could exceed $100,000, tied directly to collections. She budgeted $100,000, but cautioned there is no guarantee of the same level next year. On delinquent real estate collections, the Finance Director said she believes Keystone owes the township money, not the other way around, and is working to resolve it. For non-real estate per capita tax, the Solicitor is unsure if that tax can be split; the Finance Director will meet with the manager on next steps. The Chairman asked if someone could be assigned to collect per capita tax. Act 32 costs are the township’s weighted share of the Allegheny Southwest Group. Contracted services for real estate tax interims are split 50% with the school district; a contractor provides the service for $500 per month. Tax collector bonds were increased because the bond went up; the school district pays its own. The tax collection budget appears to have a larger increase because of the $100,000 earned income tax collector line. The Finance Director reviewed the library budget: the township budgets $232,000 for administrative costs, building supervisor, and cleaning, plus a direct contribution of $184,000, which the library did not request to increase. A $20,000 challenge grant is budgeted separately from capital reserve. A supervisor asked what motivates the library to fundraise when the township provides nearly half its budget; the Chairman called the library an asset. The Finance Director noted the library participates in federal shared proceeds grants. The Chairman asked the Assistant Township Manager to have the board’s list of appointments for 2015 ready by the next meeting. The Finance Director said Mooncrest Neighborhood costs were $18,000 last year; she is checking the agreement to see what the township should pay. The Chairman reported that he and a supervisor attended a Mooncrest event where a five-year plan was presented; a representative of the organization has not made specific requests but parking and a lot improvement may come up. The next workshop, on November 17, will cover the Capital Reserve budget, followed by the preliminary budget on November 19. The board adjourned at 7:18 p.m.The Board of Supervisors held its fifth budget workshop for 2015, focusing on the Administration, Tax Collection, Local Services Tax, and Liquid Fuels funds. No public comment was offered. The Finance Director led the line-by-line review. For the Executive Administrative budget, the board debated legal services spending. A supervisor noted costs were open-ended and suggested tracking all legal spending across departments. The board agreed to set the legal services line at $70,000, down from the proposed $75,000. The Finance Director said she would post a project-by-project legal cost spreadsheet to BoardDocs. On engineering fees, a supervisor asked to see bills to compare work by the Township Engineer versus outside engineers. The Finance Director noted vehicle maintenance costs were rising because a new vehicle was being used by multiple departments, and she proposed splitting the line item. Advertising costs were up due to three job postings at $1,200 each. The holiday/event fund was overspent due to a community development conference and retirement functions; the Finance Director increased it slightly. A supervisor asked if website enhancement included hosting; the Finance Director confirmed it did, noting a part-time employee maintains the site and may be made full-time. The building supervisor’s salary is split across departments; a supervisor questioned a 14% raise, which the Finance Director attributed to the union contract. Intergovernmental cooperation included $2,000 for boundary markers with Findlay Township; a supervisor stressed the need to mark boundaries before the Par Three Golf Course is redeveloped. Cleaning service supplies are now better documented, so the Finance Director increased that budget. Salary for clerical staff was decreased because new hires have lower salaries; the Assistant Township Manager said raises would be performance-based, not a flat 4%. Group health insurance was increased to cover a new staff accountant hire. Utilities were budgeted to actual costs. The administration budget showed a 0.8% increase.
In the Tax Collection budget, the Finance Director noted the commission on current earned income tax could exceed $100,000, tied directly to collections. She budgeted $100,000, but cautioned there is no guarantee of the same level next year. On delinquent real estate collections, the Finance Director said she believes Keystone owes the township money, not the other way around, and is working to resolve it. For non-real estate per capita tax, the Solicitor is unsure if that tax can be split; the Finance Director will meet with the manager on next steps. The Chairman asked if someone could be assigned to collect per capita tax. Act 32 costs are the township’s weighted share of the Allegheny Southwest Group. Contracted services for real estate tax interims are split 50% with the school district; a contractor provides the service for $500 per month. Tax collector bonds were increased because the bond went up; the school district pays its own. The tax collection budget appears to have a larger increase because of the $100,000 earned income tax collector line.
The Finance Director reviewed the library budget: the township budgets $232,000 for administrative costs, building supervisor, and cleaning, plus a direct contribution of $184,000, which the library did not request to increase. A $20,000 challenge grant is budgeted separately from capital reserve. A supervisor asked what motivates the library to fundraise when the township provides nearly half its budget; the Chairman called the library an asset. The Finance Director noted the library participates in federal shared proceeds grants.
The Chairman asked the Assistant Township Manager to have the board’s list of appointments for 2015 ready by the next meeting. The Finance Director said Mooncrest Neighborhood costs were $18,000 last year; she is checking the agreement to see what the township should pay. The Chairman reported that he and a supervisor attended a Mooncrest event where a five-year plan was presented; a representative of the organization has not made specific requests but parking and a lot improvement may come up. The next workshop, on November 17, will cover the Capital Reserve budget, followed by the preliminary budget on November 19. The board adjourned at 7:18 p.m.
Summarised by AI from the linked minutes, with some details withheld for privacy. The document is the record — check anything that matters against it.