Indications from a preview of the 2024 Salisbury Township budget are that increases for township property owners may be in the offing for garbage collection and fire fund fees.

“We’re going to have to discuss the trash,” Salisbury Township Director of Finance Paul Ziegenfus said.

Ziegenfus spoke during the Aug. 24 township board of commissioners meeting workshop for which the topic was “Review & Discuss 2024 Budget Timeline.”

“I’ve built in a 25 percent increase, “ Ziegenfus said concerning the township budget for 2024 when Salisbury residents could face an increase in the garbage collection fee.

“Everybody’s getting hit by the same trash increases,” Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners President Deb Brinton said.

“We’ll spread it [a possible increase] out a bit,” Brinton said.

“Likely, we’ll spread it [a garbage collection fee increase] over two [years ],” Salisbury Township Manager Cathy Bonaskiewich said.

The rate that township residents pay in 2023 for garbage collection is $93 per unit per quarter or $372 annually.

Salisbury Township’s three-year trash contract with Republic Services expires Dec. 31. The township will put out a Request For Proposals.

The approximate $5 million trash contract with Republic was for three years: 2021, 2022 and 2023, with a possible renewal in 2024 and 2025.

“The garbage contract is up at the end of the year. Republic won’t extend it,” Bonaskiewich said during the June 8 township meeting workshop.

The last time the township put out an RFP for trash haulers was in 2019, before the Coronavirus pandemic shutdown.

The pandemic created challenges not only for Salisbury, but for other Lehigh Valley municipalities and trash haulers.

The challenges, which have continued and are expected to continue, are blamed on several problems, including lack of trash company manpower, higher trash company labor costs and an increase in trash hauler vehicle fuel costs.

Salisbury commissioners discussed the garbage collection contract at their June 8 meeting workshop when Bonaskiewich said the township RFP would need to include options.

The options could include:

- Changing garbage pickup in the township from twice a week to once a week.

- Distributing to residents new 65-gallon wheeled trash containers for automatic pickup by a robot arm, also known as automated side-loaders.

At the Aug. 24 township workshop, Ziegenfus said other Lehigh Valley municipalities are facing similar garbage collection contract challenges. The garbage fee in South Whitehall Township may increase from $92 to $95 per quarter to $155 to $165 per quarter, according to Ziegenfus.

An increase in the Salisbury Township Fire Fund is expected because of the Western Salisbury Volunteer Fire Company $3 million Swain Station project.

“We will need to raise taxes for the fire fund,” Ziegenfus said.

“But we’re not raising taxes. We’re providing services,” Brinton said.

In the 2023 budget, the fire fund received 0.29000 mills on each $1 of assessed valuation, equivalent to 02.9000 cents on each $100 of assessed valuation. The fire fund was $377,000 in the 2023 budget.

The timetable for topics and presentations for workshops (held immediately after meetings) and for meetings concerning the 2024 Salisbury Township budget, in addition to the Aug. 24 workshop is, as outlined by Ziegenfus:

Sept. 28 workshop: Budget draft

Oct. 12 workshop: Fire Fund presentation

Oct. 28 workshop: Public Works Department, water and sewer fees, trash fees

Nov. 9 workshop: Police Department, Instructional Technology Department

Nov. 21 meeting: Budget first-reading and approval to advertise it

Dec. 14 meeting: Budget adoption

The Salisbury Township public meeting schedule for September in the municipal building, 2900 S. Pike Avenue, includes: 7 p.m. Sept. 13, zoning hearing board; 7 p.m. Sept. 14, board of commissioners; 7 p.m. Sept. 27, planning commission and 7 p.m. Sept. 28, board of commissioners.