The Salisbury Township 2021 budget has been approved, a new contract with the township trash hauler was passed and funding for a new fire engine has been earmarked.

The Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 in separate votes to approve the budget, trash contract, fire engine funding and other matters at the Dec. 10 meeting.

Township officials met in the meeting room of the municipal building. The public and the media participated via the Zoom meeting format. There were 16 participants listed on Zoom.

Commissioners meet 7 p.m. Dec. 22 in the municipal building to finalize fiscal matters. Township officials are expected to again meet in person with the public and media participating via Zoom. Preregistration on the township website meeting agenda is required.

The budget includes no tax increase for the 2021 calendar year. The township tax millage is to stay the same.

The municipal solid waste and recycling contract was awarded to Republic Services.

Based on what the township is projecting in a new contract for refuse and recycling, an increase in the quarterly rate is being proposed.

The township trash collection rate of $68 per quarter per unit is to increase $7 per quarter to $75 per quarter per unit. This would be $28 per year per resident or an increase of approximately $2 per month. However, this may change with the approval of front-door recycling of electronic equipment.

Trash pickup will be Monday through Friday. Saturday pickup is eliminated.

“This will allow us to save money because the trash haulers must pay overtime and it’s difficult to get workers for the weekend,” board of commissioners President Deb Brinton said.

Pickup will be twice per week with once per week for recycling.

Household electronics and hazardous waste to be picked up at the resident’s front door is to be arranged by a phone call to the trash hauler.

“I told some of my neighbors and they thought it was fantastic,” Brinton said of the new service.

The approximate $5-million trash contract is over three years: 2021, 2022 and 2023, with possible renewal in 2024 and 2025.

“We’re talking of some substantial changes. We’ll probably roll this into 2021,” Salisbury Township Manager Cathy Bonaskiewich said.

Commissioner Heather Lipkin made the motion, seconded by board Vice President Rodney Conn, to bring the motion on the trash contract to a vote, which was approved unanimously 5-0.

The Eastern Salisbury Fire Department’s new rescue truck was to have been delivered the weekend of Dec. 11.

The township paid $348,158 for the truck’s chassis in July and will be paying $313,722 at the time of the truck’s delivery.

The balance of $150,000 was to be covered by Eastern from the Volunteer Companies Loan Fund, but the loan was not secured.

The township is providing Eastern a $150,000 loan from the general fund at a rate of 2 percent with repayment to not exceed five years.

Salisbury Township Commissioner Alok Patnaik made the motion, seconded by Commissioner James Seagreaves, to bring the resolution for the loan to a vote, which was approved 5-0.

Based on a police pension consultant employed by Salisbury Township who prepared the Jan. 1, 2019 actuarial report valuation, the township has certified its annual minimum municipal obligation for 2021, which includes a total financial requirement to the police pension plan in the amount of $405,648.

The police will contribute 3.04 percent of their annual compensation to the plan during the year 2021.

“The [police] contract concludes Dec. 31, 2020. It is going into arbitration. If there is any change, we will address that,” Bonaskiewich said.

Lipkin made the motion, seconded by Conn, to bring the resolution to set the police pension plan to a vote, which was approved 5-0.

Commissioners voted 5-0 on a motion by Conn, seconded by Lipkin, to approve the nonuniformed defined contribution pension plan for 2020.

“This is our new pension plan. We have to have the 8 percent of compensation amount. We will not know that until payroll is complete for the year,” Bonaskiewich said.

The township tax rate will stay at 2.42 mills.

“We really tried to keep it scaled back,” Bonaskiewich said of the budget. “We didn’t want to overburden the taxpayers.”

Patnaik made the motion, seconded by Seagreaves, to bring the ordinance for the budget to a vote, which was approved 5-0.

Here are the 2021 adopted budgets:

GENERAL FUND

•Revenue $8,564,204

•Current Year $8,564,204

•Expenditures $8,564,204

Operating Expenditures

•General Government $1,341,316

•Police $3,357,523

•Public Safety (non-police) $565,827

•Highways & Public Works $2,671,165

•Recreation $89,058

•Environmental Advisory $900

•Insurances & Benefits $190,600

•Contributions & Miscellaneous $24,000

•Total Operating Expenditures $8,240,389

Non-Operating Expenditures

•Debt Service $183,150

•Capital $109,000

•Total Non-Operating Expenditures $292,150

•Transfer to Reserves $31,665

FIRE PROTECTION FUND

•Revenue $373,800

•Current Year $373,800

•Expenditures $373,800

•Operating Expenditures $241,850

•Non-Operating Expenditures $39,726

•Transfer to Reserves $92,224

LIBRARY FUND

•Revenue $86,100

•Current Year $78,350

•Use of Prior Year Reserves $7,750

•Operating Expenditures $86,100

WATER FUND

•Revenue $2,037,455

•Current Year $2,035,200

•Use of Prior Year Reserves $2,255

•Expenditures $2,037,455

•Operating Expenditures $1,981,040

•Non-Operating Expenditures $56,415

SEWER FUND

•Revenue $2,132,942

•Current Year $2,132,942

•Expenditures $2,132,942

•Operating Expenditures $1,791,713

•Non-Operating Expenditures $299,637

•Transfer to Reserves $41,592

REFUSE & RECYCLING FUND

•Revenue $1,956,563

•Current Year $1,947,010

•Use of Prior Year Reserves $9,553

•Operating Expenditures $1,956,563

HIGHWAY AID FUND

•Revenue $601,000

•Current Year $431,565

•Use of Prior Year Reserves $169,435

•Expenditures $601,000

•Operating Expenditures $213,000

•Capital Expenditures $388,000

The tax rate for general township purposes is 2.07000 mills on each $1 of assessed valuation or 20.7000 cents on each $100 of assessed valuation.

The tax rate for fire protection purposes is 0.29000 mills on each $1 of assessed valuation or 02.9000 cents on each $100 of assessed valuation.

The tax rate for library services purposes is 0.06000 mills on each $1 of assessed valuation or 00.6000 cents on each $100 of assessed valuation.

The total millage is 2.42000 mills on each $1 of assessed valuation or 24.2000 cents on each $100 of assessed valuation.

A discount of 2 percent of the amount of any tax levied on real property under the ordinance shall be allowed if payment in full is tendered or officially postmarked on or before May 31, 2021.

A penalty equal to 10 percent of the amount of any such tax levied on real property under the ordinance shall be added to the amount of said tax and shall be payable if payment in full of said tax is not tendered or officially postmarked on or before July 31, 2021.

The tax levy of 1 percent presently imposed upon salaries, wages, commissions and other compensation earned by residents of Salisbury Township and earned in the township by nonresidents continues.

The 1 percent tax presently levied upon the privilege of transferring or conveying, by deed or other document, any interest in any lands, tenements or hereditaments in or partly in the Salisbury Township, was enacted and levied, without change for 2021.