The Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners is expected to vote to advertise the 2024 township budget 7 p.m. Nov. 21, with increases in taxes and fees apparently in the offing for township property owners.

The commissioners’ meeting in the township municipal building, 2900 S. Pike Ave., is being held on a Tuesday rather than a Thursday because of the Nov. 23 Thanksgiving Day holiday.

Increases in taxes and fees are expected to be nearly across-the-board.

A likely increase for residential trash and recycling won’t be known until bids are received, reviewed and a bid is recommended, which may not happen until the 7 p.m. Dec. 14 township meeting, the only scheduled commissioners’ meeting in December and possibly the commissioners’ final meeting of 2023.

The first reading of the budget and approval to advertise the budget is expected at the Nov. 21 meeting. Budget adoption is expected at the Dec. 14 meeting. The public can review the budget after it is advertised and before its adoption.

The timeline for the 2024 Salisbury Township budget, in addition to discussion at the Aug. 24 township workshop (workshops are held immediately after township meetings), was: Sept. 28 workshop: budget draft; Oct. 12 workshop: fire fund presentation; Oct. 28 workshop: public works department presentation, water and sewer fees, trash fees and Nov. 9 workshop: police department, instructional technology department presentations.

Salisbury Township Director of Finance Paul Ziegenfus, in a one-hour phone interview Nov. 12 with a reporter for The Press, previewed the 2024 budget he prepared based on input from township department heads and volunteer fire company chiefs, among other township officials.

Asked for an overview about the 2024 budget, Ziegenfus emailed a reporter for The Press Nov. 12.

“The 2024 budget process was challenging as we tried to cut costs where we could while taking on current challenges and looking forward to future needs as well,” Ziegenfus said.

“We can no longer ignore or put off the needs of the township and its residents. This 2024 budget allows the township to continue to provide exceptional service to its residents,” Ziegenfus said.

Salisbury Township Manager Cathy Bonaskiewich, also asked for her view of the 2024 township budget, emailed a reporter for The Press Nov. 12.

“The proposed 2024 budget is a solid budget. Much review and discussion with department heads went into the final draft over the last several months, well before presenting it to the board of commissioners,” Bonaskiewich said.

“We sought to maintain – and even bolster – current services provided by the township; unfortunately, in today’s economic climate that warranted a small tax increase for 2024,” Bonaskiewich said.

“With this budget plan we’re presenting, we’re confident that we’ll be able to continue to provide quality services not only next year, but into the future,” Bonaskiewich concluded.

Operating budget

The township operating budget for 2024 is $10,570,204, an increase of $793,175 over the 2023 projected total, or an 8.1 percent increase, Ziegenfus said in a Nov. 13 email response to a reporter for The Press.

The township capital budget for 2024 is $473,200, a decrease from the projected capital budget for 2023 of $3,090,874, which included the McCauliff Property purchase for $1.9 million, Ziegenfus said.

General fund

Ziegenfus said the general fund budget for 2024 includes a proposed tax increase of .45 mills to generate an additional $577,000 in real estate taxes.

The proposed increase in real estate taxes is because of the following, Ziegenfus said:

- The cost to add a new lieutenant position (replacing a sergeant position) in the police department and an additional police officer (added in July).

- Inflationary increases to salary and benefits. General fund salaries increased by $309,473. General fund employee benefits increased by $213,722. Salary and benefits increased by $523,195, a 7.06 percent increase over 2023.

- There will be .30 mills ($385,000) earmarked toward capital expenditures. This covers capital needs.

The impact of the .45 mills increase to a resident with a property assessed value at $233,000 (median average in Salisbury Township) is an increase of $103 for the year or $8.58 per month in real estate taxes.

Fire fund

The 2024 township budget includes a proposed tax increase of .20 mills to the general fund, or an additional $256,000, in real estate taxes.

The fire fund for 2024 is $112, up $46, from $66 for 2023.

The township library fund stays the same at $14.

The proposed fire fund increase is because of the following:

- Western Salisbury Fire Department demolished the former Swain Station and is building a new fire station at the same location. The total cost of the project is $3.5 million. The township is providing $180,000 toward the station project in 2023.

- The cost of firefighting apparatus has increased significantly and the township has determined it will need to earmark $180,000 toward fire truck replacements. This is an increase from $120,000 per year.

“The 25-year plan for fire apparatus replacement totals $6.85 million. The first piece of equipment is scheduled to be replaced in 2030,” Ziegenfus said.

Water fund

For the water fund, “We received rate increases of 4.7 percent from Lehigh County Authority. The township was notified Sept. 29,” Ziegenfus said.

This will need to be passed through to all water system users, Ziegenfus said.

In addition, the township is budgeting an additional utility department employee to tackle major capital projects in-house instead of contracting out this work at a higher cost, Ziegenfus said.

With an additional employee dedicated to the utility department, the township will be able to replace approximately 1,500 feet of water line pipe every year. In the past, the township would contract this work out every three or four years. By bringing this in-house, the township will save almost $2 million over 10 years, Ziegenfus said.

With the increases in budgeted expenditures to the water fund, the township is proposing an increase of $.40 per 1,000 gallons in 2024.

The additional cost to a water customer (an average water resident that uses 15,000 gallons per quarter) is approximately $6 per quarter or $24 per year.

Sewer fund

Similar to the water fund, the sewer fund expenditures have also increased because of cost increases imposed by Lehigh County Authority (3.4 percent) and City of Bethlehem (26.4 percent), Ziegenfus said.

In addition, the township is required to decrease the amount of Infiltration and Inflow imposed by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Ziegenfus said.

For 2024, the township plans to spend $300,000, up from $250,000 in 2023, for sewer-line testing, locating deficiencies and relining of pipes.

With the increases in budgeted expenditures in the sewer fund, the township is proposing an increase of $4 per quarter. The 2024 flat fee is $83, up from the 2023 flat fee of $79.

Refuse-recycling

Concerning the refuse-recycling fund, Ziegenfus said that, with the contract with Republic Services expiring Dec. 31, the township has put out the trash and recycling contract for bid and is awaiting final bids at the end of November. The refuse rate will be calculated based on the lowest responsible bidder. Two bidders are interested.

In addition to the 7 p.m. Nov. 21 board of commissioners’ meeting, the township planning commission meets 7 p.m. Nov. 29.