Watson Township has a healthy fund balance — maybe a little too healthy — and local officials Thursday evening had lengthy discussions about how the surplus funds should be spent.
Township Treasurer Sue Jones told board colleagues the township now is sitting on a fund balance, or rainy day fund, of $326,058 and is blessed with an Oppenheimer Fund that contains about $102,000. The problem, however, is that the state doesn’t look kindly on local governments hoarding money.
“There is a lot of taxpayers’ money just sitting there, more than $400,000,” the treasurer said last month. “We ought to find something to do with it.”
So board members came up with three spending priorities, one to maintain the rural character of the township, another to maintain infrastructure and a third to promote transparency.
Trustee Chuck Andrysiak urged caution, saying he wants to know how the township coffers swelled over the last six years.
“I’d like to see if it (the surplus) is sustainable before spending any money,” he said. “I want to know if it’s a trend and whether we’ll continue to come in under budget.”
Specifically, the board indicated willingness to spend $8,000 on fencing around Miner Cemetery and purchasing new carpeting for the township hall.
Jones said the township’s fund balance has climbed from just over $200,000 in 2012 to more than $325,000 this fiscal year. She insisted wise management of funds and increasing state revenue sharing has made the difference.
The Township Board’s 2018-19 fiscal year budget projects revenue and expenditures at $232,050. The tax levy is set at 0.7673 mill, rolled back from the original one mill figure because of provisions of the Headlee Amendment.
Watson also has a road fund of $147,850 based on a voted 1.9828 mills.
