Upper Milford Township Supervisors unanimously passed the township’s 2019 $2.6 million budget Dec. 6. The budget increases the real estate tax millage rate from .171 mills to .45 mills.

Among other expenditures, the 2019 budget sets aside $7,500 for salaries for elected officials, $81,120 for the township manager, $58,427.20 for the assistant secretary/treasurer and $225,000 for engineering consulting fees.

Highway maintenance general services is slated to get $109,707.07 while $50,000 is budgeted for snow and ice removal. Traffic signals and signs will cost $25,000 and repair of tools and machinery is expected to cost $22,000. Maintenance of highways and bridges gets $452,369.42, mostly for wages. Highway construction and rebuilding is budgeted for $210,000.

Social Security payments, Medicare taxes and workman’s compensation costs are budgeted for $147,157.13. Employee benefits such as health and accident insurance and pension fund obligations account for $422,102.38 of the budget.

Supervisors also gave permission for Township Manager Bud Carter to start the hiring process for an additional public works employee. According to Secretary Treasurer Jessi O’Donald, applicants should, as a minimum, have or be able to get a commercial driver’s license.

In other business, the supervisors authorized an application for a traffic signal on Route 29 (Chestnut Street) and Allen Street. The exact location will be determined after the planned bridge work is completed.

Supervisors also extended the agreement with the Emmaus Public Library for 2019.

The supervisors also approved a conservation easement agreement with Lehigh County.

Supervisors also approved a request to provide special fire police in support of a Christmas Eve candlelight service 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. Dec. 24 at the Old Zionsville United Church of Christ.

In other business, Supervisor Daniel Mohr said there have been five accidents on Main Road East near Vera Cruz Road that may be related to frozen water from a property owner’s sump pump. He said another bad spot is on South Fifth Street. “Somebody’s going to get killed,” he said.

Supervisor Robert Sentner complained that a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation truck had been staged on a road in preparation for a snowstorm, but the driver had not taken the opportunity to clean leaves out of a drainage ditch. Sentner suggested the township manager arrange to get “our representative from the [PA] House of Representatives” to come and discuss PennDot with the supervisors.

Emmaus Public Library will sponsor a science, technology, engineering and math or STEM learning lab through Jan. 26, 2019. The STEM lab will be led by Johnny Yang, a high school student.

The library is also participating in the Share the Warmth project with its Give a Coat, Take a Coat drive.

Lastly, the library is also a drop-off point for the annual Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots program.