12 October 2015
Moon Township Board of Supervisors and its boards · 26 subject tags
The Board of Supervisors held a budget workshop focused on public safety for 2016. The finance director reviewed the proposed police budget line by line. The finance director attributed an overall increase to 27 payrolls in 2016 and noted the police department will account for 48-49% of the total budget. The gas line item is reduced by 32% due to new fuel reporting software and declining prices. Driver training is increased because grant funding is no longer available. Radio maintenance is up due to more radios, and the uniform line item rises because the township will outfit an additional officer. Administrative expenses are increasing partly from telephones and postage; the finance director will work with the IT director to reduce costs and will discontinue the postage machine at the public safety building, saving about $900 per quarter. Salary increases reflect wage hikes, the School Resource Officer, and duties related to the Air Show and Presidential Campaign. Health insurance for police officers rose 36%. The SDBB line item is increased because two retiring officers will sell back unused sick days. Utilities are down approximately 40% due to the switch to wind energy. For the fire department budget, the finance director reported few changes. Fuel costs decrease for the same reasons as the police budget. A new line item, Staff Development, covers training expenses for the fire chief and employees. The township manager noted the former fire chief attends PSEIF meetings in Harrisburg 4-5 times a year, and the township pays mileage and hotel costs. The township manager is working with the former fire chief to share information with Moon VFD leadership. Radio costs increase due to vehicle replacements, and vehicle maintenance rises because the fire chief wants additional pump and ladder testing. The chairman commended the fire chief for reducing costs without cutting services. The board discussed putting the general liability policy out to bid. The finance director recalled using a broker three years ago for workers’ compensation, which cost about $4,000 but provided an apples-to-apples comparison. The township manager noted she had done this work in-house elsewhere. The chairman suggested the manager speak with the current broker about savings for the 2016 renewal. A supervisor thought it might be too late to bid this year but recommended doing so next year. The meeting adjourned at 6:15 PM.The Board of Supervisors held a budget workshop focused on public safety for 2016. The finance director reviewed the proposed police budget line by line. The finance director attributed an overall increase to 27 payrolls in 2016 and noted the police department will account for 48-49% of the total budget. The gas line item is reduced by 32% due to new fuel reporting software and declining prices. Driver training is increased because grant funding is no longer available. Radio maintenance is up due to more radios, and the uniform line item rises because the township will outfit an additional officer. Administrative expenses are increasing partly from telephones and postage; the finance director will work with the IT director to reduce costs and will discontinue the postage machine at the public safety building, saving about $900 per quarter. Salary increases reflect wage hikes, the School Resource Officer, and duties related to the Air Show and Presidential Campaign. Health insurance for police officers rose 36%. The SDBB line item is increased because two retiring officers will sell back unused sick days. Utilities are down approximately 40% due to the switch to wind energy.
For the fire department budget, the finance director reported few changes. Fuel costs decrease for the same reasons as the police budget. A new line item, Staff Development, covers training expenses for the fire chief and employees. The township manager noted the former fire chief attends PSEIF meetings in Harrisburg 4-5 times a year, and the township pays mileage and hotel costs. The township manager is working with the former fire chief to share information with Moon VFD leadership. Radio costs increase due to vehicle replacements, and vehicle maintenance rises because the fire chief wants additional pump and ladder testing. The chairman commended the fire chief for reducing costs without cutting services.
The board discussed putting the general liability policy out to bid. The finance director recalled using a broker three years ago for workers’ compensation, which cost about $4,000 but provided an apples-to-apples comparison. The township manager noted she had done this work in-house elsewhere. The chairman suggested the manager speak with the current broker about savings for the 2016 renewal. A supervisor thought it might be too late to bid this year but recommended doing so next year. The meeting adjourned at 6:15 PM.
Summarised by AI from the linked minutes, with some details withheld for privacy. The document is the record — check anything that matters against it.