Eldred Township is looking at a tax increase of 0.25 mil in its 2023 budget.

The supervisors said it is needed to help make up for a deficit in the general fund budget.

Ann Velopolcek, the township secretary, said that the township is not in a deficit, but it anticipates costs next year will exceed anticipated revenue.

“We try to create a budget based upon anticipated revenue and expenses alone, but fuel and materials costs, and use are variable, as well as snow removal costs, etc. We can only estimate those,” Velopolcek said. “That said, the treasurer tends to err on the side of showing more spending rather than less in the budget proposal, so we do not run out of money midyear.”

The township doesn’t want to have to dip into its reserve fund, because it is not replenishable, she said.

Inflation is a concern for the township.

“We do not yet know how inflation and recession in the upcoming year may impact us. The majority of our budget goes to maintaining roads, snow and ice removal and personnel needed to maintain roads,” she said. “That has not changed.”

At the supervisors meeting on Nov. 16, Gary Hoffman, chairman of the supervisors, said the lack of a tax base from commercial properties hurts the township.

“The tax base we have is pretty much residential. There are very few commercial - two or three businesses at the most,” he said.

Hoffman said the township needs something more like a 1 mil increase to truly meet the township’s needs.

“We are proposing a quarter of a mil tax increase, but that is not going to sustain us long term. I think the discussion earlier tonight would be to cover that long term with an excess of 1 mil. If we do nothing, the picture gets worse,” he said.

The fire company is going to need to replace a truck within a few years and will need some financial assistance from the township. Plus, the township is committed to contributing to the cost of new radio equipment that is part of a countywide upgrade involving multiple municipalities.

Hoffman said that municipalities with a larger commercial tax base are able to contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to their fire companies. Eldred Township doesn’t have the money, but does have several volunteer firefighters.

“I think we are very fortunate to have the volunteer turnout that we have. Nobody really recognizes that until they have a fire, and then they want them there immediately and they want as many people as they can. I think what money we spend on the fire department is well spent,” Hoffman said. “If we do nothing (involving the taxes), we have to cut services.”

The tax rate for last year was 1.95 mills, Velopolcek said. The county is at 3.2273, and the Pleasant Valley School District is at 24.3723.

“As you can see, the township has the lowest rate of all the taxing bodies,” she said.

The budget is available for residents to see at the township office. The supervisors plan to vote on it at their next meeting on Dec. 21.