Hamilton Township budget workshop: insurance costs, solid‑waste bids and capital requests shape 2024 plan

Director Dumont opened Hamilton Township’s budget workshop by reviewing 2023 accomplishments and framing the 2024 budget priorities. "For the record, I'm very proud of what collectively we have accomplished," he said, noting that the township milled and paved 12 roads and handled 5,733 construction permits and 23,393 inspections in 2023.

The finance discussion centered on personnel and vendor costs. Staff told council that the construction division’s group health insurance allocation rises by about $100,000 — from roughly $783,000 in 2023 to about $883,000 in 2024 — and that the increase is apportioned across departments. Councilmembers and staff said that, but for the insurance change, many divisions would show net decreases.

Council also reviewed several line‑item changes: a $5,600 net reduction to the zoning board of adjustment budget (including elimination of a $600 Dropbox charge), a modest $3,000 shift in economic‑development salaries tied to a pilot program previously funded elsewhere, and assorted small increases and decreases across engineering, housing‑inspections and community‑planning accounts.

Staff and council emphasized budgeting best practices such as retaining surplus in targeted trusts (storm, recycling) and reviewing historical spending for volatile line items — for example, elevator and consultant service accounts that have varied substantially year to year. The workshop included questions about lead times for capital procurement and whether smaller items could be funded from the capital‑improvement fund instead of the capital budget.

The meeting closed with no formal votes taken; council thanked staff for the detailed notes and preparation and moved to adjourn.