Middletown officials outline $9.6 million in capital needs, warn of $2.8 million operating shortfall

Middletown Township officials presented a list of proposed capital maintenance and improvement projects and solicited public priorities at a capital budget workshop on Aug. 18. Township Manager Eden Ratliff said the township is starting the budget cycle with an operating shortfall of $2,800,000 for 2025 and outlined nearly $9.6 million in combined capital requests if the board funded every item presented.

Ratliff said the operating gap — the difference between the township’s approved spending and revenue for 2025 — is being covered by fund balance for now but is not sustainable: “We are spending $2,800,000 more in the 2025 budget than what we are bringing in in revenue in 2025,” he said. He added the gap could grow by roughly $1 million next year because roughly 80 percent of the township’s general fund budget covers personnel costs.

The presentation separated capital maintenance (preserving existing assets) from capital improvements (new assets or upgrades that increase functionality). Staff proposed $4.9 million in maintenance items including parks work, facility repairs, IT and police equipment, and vehicle and heavy-equipment replacement. Facility repairs were the single largest maintenance category because of a proposed $1.1 million roof-and-gutter replacement for the township building that helped raise the facilities total to about $1.7 million.

Capital improvements totaled about $4.7 million in director requests and included items such as a new command vehicle for fire/emergency services (staff estimated a fully upfitted vehicle at about $70,000), a feasibility-backed solar array for the Community Park barn (expected to pay back in roughly 14 years), a five‑year broadcast/recording upgrade for public meetings (estimated at about $30,000 per year), and a multi‑year ADA curb‑ramp push to address hundreds of non‑compliant ramps in the township.

On roads and stormwater, staff noted the township currently budgets about $500,000 a year for paving, which covers roughly one mile, while the township manages about 160 miles of road. Staff recommended considering an increase toward $1 million annually and highlighted stormwater inlet and culvert work tied to recent stormwater fee revenues. Township engineer Eric (last name not specified in the presentation) described several multi‑year stormwater projects — including the near‑term Langhorne Gables Phase 2 work and the Rita Avenue culvert — and said grant opportunities and the township’s new stormwater fee would be used to fund construction over multiple years.

Police and IT needs were also a focus. Finance staff member Lara (last name not given) proposed moving the budget process out of Excel into a dedicated budget software; staff estimated initial implementation plus the first-year service fee and ongoing annual licensing that she said would likely be about $20,000 per year after the first year. The police chief (name not given) described an upcoming end‑of‑life issue for the department’s records‑management software (CODI’s current desktop product is scheduled to reach end of life in 2029) and said the department is investigating Axon’s cloud‑based records system. The chief estimated a conservative $300,000 for an Axon migration as a planning placeholder but said the actual cost is not known and may be lower; he also said Axon currently limits full records customers to departments of 100 or more officers, so the township is exploring whether Axon would make an exception.

Public works staff described a decades‑old public‑works garage that staff recommended replacing or rebuilding; staff requested $400,000 for design work in 2026 ahead of a construction phase. Staff also proposed replacing a 24‑year‑old street sweeper, adding an excavator for stormwater work, and expanding in‑house concrete capability to accelerate curb‑ramp and sidewalk repairs.

Ratliff and other staff repeatedly emphasized that the $9.6 million figure is a preliminary, “all‑in” do‑everything list intended to show need at the start of the budget process, not a request that the board approve all items immediately. Staff estimated that approximately $661,000 in grant funding is already secured for projects proposed next year and that another $1.4 million of RDA (Bucks County Redevelopment Authority) applications would be submitted; assuming a roughly 60 percent grant‑award rate across the pipeline, staff estimated grants could offset about $3.5 million.

Public engagement was a central component of the workshop. Staff used a real‑time Mentimeter poll to ask attendees to split a hypothetical $100 among priorities (police and fire, roads, stormwater, parks, government operations) and to rate specific projects. Ratliff said the exercise is one of multiple planned public touchpoints in the board’s October budget workshops when staff will return with operating and revenue details.

No formal board votes or ordinance actions were recorded during the workshop; the session was informational and meant to inform the formal budget development process. Ratliff outlined a calendar that moves from continued internal budget development to public review in October and adoption later in the year, and he said board decisions about which projects to fund will follow further review of revenue and operating pressures.

Ending with next steps, staff urged residents to follow the publicly posted schedule for the October budget workshops, offered to receive additional questions via the township’s public comment channels, and noted several near‑term public meetings related to stormwater projects. The board closed the capital budget workshop portion of the evening and moved to other business and public comment.