2023 TOWNSHIP BUDGET PROCESS – We deserve better

Mar 7, 20231 Comment

When are this year’s public Township Budget Hearings planned?

-Sai Akiri

Update: Received a response from Liza, township administrator.

In 2021 the public budget hearing was held on March 1,
2021. The township budget was introduced on April 6, 2021, for approval.

In 2020 three public budget hearings were held in the month of February and March.

This year, there is no mention of the approved public meetings based on the approved list.

An outline of the township budget process from our Township page clearly states

“Once the Operating and Capital budgets are drafted, the Governing Body holds public Budget Hearings to discuss and review the budgets. Each Budget Hearing includes a Citizens Hearing where the public can comment and ask questions. Each department head or their representative appears at the Budget Hearings to formally present their requests. The Governing Body may make changes to the budget as needed.”

Starting with the first reorganization meeting of the Town Council on January 4, 2023, the council has passed close to over ~ 6 million in emergency appropriations until February.

The Town Council passed the following resolutions authorizing temporary emergency appropriations:

The agenda for planned adoption tonight (March 7, 2023) lists a resolution authorizing an emergency appropriation of $57.942.27.

Taxpaying residents expect a public budget hearing. An open town hall meeting
to review the township budget is not unusual. Not so long ago, the town council and mayor held public budget sessions along with department heads to review the preliminary budget.

We deserve better from our elected representatives. Each one of them has a fiduciary responsibility and in the spirit of transparency and accountability needs to present the preliminary budget to the very people expected to pay the bill.