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Perry Township supervisors approve tentative budget with no tax hike

By Erin Hayes for The 3 min read

PERRY TWP. — For the fifteenth year in a row, township supervisors have been able to approve a tentative budget for the upcoming year without imposing tax hikes on residents — despite the township taking a hard financial hit last month after a heavy rain storm washed out a section of Falbo Road and claimed the life of person who drove into a crater created in the road.

Supervisors on Tuesday approved a tentative 2015 budget of $648,500 with no tax increases despite recently having to spend more than $131,000 on road repairs, roughly the equivalent of what the township had accumulated in it gas impact fund.

“We were fortunate to have to the gas impact fund, and we have been very frugal with how we run the township,” said A.J. Boni, chairman of the board of supervisors, of the funding available to replace about 120 feet of storm water piping along Falbo Road and repair a 100-foot-wide, 27-foot-deep crater in the road caused by the Aug. 23 storm.

“We are living within our means — even with these non-budgeted expenses,” he said, adding that about $104,000 budgeted toward the township’s 2014 road repaving projects may be used toward additional costs associated with Falbo Road and other major road repairs.

Also at the meeting, supervisors appointed a new animal control responder as mandated by the Fayette County Emergency Management Agency to fill a void created by the recent closure of the country Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

Supervisors considered two contract proposals for new animal control services: one from Hoffman Kennels and another from Angels of Mercy.

Township Sectretary Katherine Petrosky said that Hoffman Kennels proposed to provide animal control services for $150 a month, while Angels of Mercy proposed with work with any amount of funds the township was able to afford.

The SPCA had been charging the township $175 per month for their services, supervisors noted.

Boni said that Hoffman Kennels was quick to respond to a recent incident on Diamond Street involving two pit bulls, noting also that many municipalities in the county were contracting with Hoffman.

Upon hearing advice from the township solicitor, supervisors voted to enter into a contract with Hoffman Kennels until the end of the year, at which time supervisors will conduct a performance review.

Supervisors also announced at the meeting that county commissioners had approved a change of polling locations proposed by the Fayette County Election Bureau. Instead of voting at Gene and Gina Doemling’s Garage, located at 166 Main St. in Perryopolis, residents will now cast their votes on Nov. 4 at the Perry Township municipal building, located at 1 Township Dr. in Star Junction.

“We’re trying to make this as painless as possible,” Boni said.

In other business, supervisors:

n Announced that trick-or-treat this year will be from 3-5 p.m. on Oct. 26. A firemen’s parade will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the circle Perryopolis borough.

n Tabled action on three bids opened at the meeting to repair about 100 feet of a failing gabion retaining wall on River Road, which is sliding from its shale rock foundation on a steep incline on Whitsett Hill. The project is expected to cost around $200,000, Boni said. The lowest bid came in at $334,000. The bids were tabled pending review by the township engineer and solicitor. Currently, the road is down to one lane along one stretch, but remains opens and safe to traverse, he added.

n Adopted a resolution to secure a line of credit up to $8,000 with United Bank.

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