Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Middletown Township has locked the 2021 budget. And it doesn’t include a tax hike.
The Middletown Township Board of Supervisors voted this month to approve the 2021 budget that features $36.6 million for operations and $6.4 million for capital improvements.
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The steady 17.57 mills tax rate will cost the average homeowner $516.73.
In the budget, officials listed capital programs for 2021: $40,000 for grant writing, $95,000 for a replacement generator for the township building, $30,000 in upgrades to the broadcasting system, $32,000 to replace security cameras at the Municipal Center, $35,000 for a comprehensive fire study, $71,000 for firefighter breathing packs, $10,000 for automated external defibrillators (AEDs), $6,000 for new public works software, $53,000 for police department technology, $106,000 for computer system upgrades, $60,000 for a park comprehensive plan, $10,000 to refresh the Queen Anne Greenway, $99,000 for upgrades to the barn at Middletown Community Park, $105,000 for upgrades to Forsythia Crossing Park, $30,000 to remove damaged trees, $575,000 for upgrades to Twin Oaks Park, $340,000 for new vehicles and storage areas for the police department, $1 million for a reconstruction of the public works garage, $350,000 for replacement of the gas and diesel tanks at the public works building, $400,000 for new public works vehicles, $90,000 for various pieces of public works equipment, $110,000 to replace footbridges in Levittown, $1 million for roadway improvements, and more for intersection improvements, drainage projects, curb ramp replacements. The township plans to earn grant money for hundreds of thousands in planned projects.
Last month, the township added a roughly $500,000 project for road improvements and the installation of a traffic signal at Swift and Woodbourne roads.
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The earned income tax (EIT) makes up 36 percent of the general fund revenue, while the real estate tax, which has not been raised in close to 10 years, is 17 percent, township officials said.
To deal with a potential revenue shortfall, the township has approved a one-time transfer of $1.1 million from the $43 million investment fund to the general fund.
“Middletown is fortunate to have entered the crisis in a sound financial position, with strong cash reserves across all funds, allowing for a proposed spending plan in 2021 that will maintain current levels of municipal service with no proposed tax increase,” Township Manager Stephanie Teoli Kuhls wrote in the budget.
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In 2020, Middletown Township saw a $3 million loss in revenue and $400,000 in unbudgeted expenses. Officials said the township tracked revenue, implemented a staff freeze, deferred some capital expenses, implemented an early retirement program for some non-uniform personnel, and minimized operational expenditures, officials said.
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