Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Walnut Township adopts 2025 budget, approves excess-levy appeals
Summary
Walnut Township’s advisory board adopted its 2025 budget on Oct. 7 and voted to apply for two excess-levy appeals — one for the township and one for fire/EMS — that would add about $2,000 to each max levy if approved by the state.
Walnut Township’s advisory board adopted the township’s 2025 budget and authorized applications for two excess-levy appeals at its Oct. 7 meeting.
Michelle Davis, a municipal finance consultant with Cronin Associates, presented the budget and walked trustees through how local levies and the Department of Local Government Finance’s (DLGF) timelines work. She said the DLGF will process appropriations and that the board must adopt the budget before Nov. 1 to avoid reverting to last year’s figures. Davis explained that the township and the fire/EMS levy each have a separate max levy and described a one-time excess-levy appeal that could add roughly $2,000 to each max levy for qualifying growth.
The presentation laid out revenue projections and fund balances: the general fund ended 2024 near $75,000 and the consultant projected an approximate year-end balance for 2025 near $90,000 based on the adopted figures. Davis emphasized the board should maintain a prudent reserve (she recommended at least six months of operating cash) while using available surplus for one-time capital needs, cemetery repairs, or township assistance.
Trustees discussed budget strategy, allowable appropriations, and how some capital purchases can justify a one-year deficit. The board also reviewed insurance line items, including a proposed liability policy related to cemetery coverage; Davis noted a conservative insurance budget of $3,000 to cover those liabilities.
Board members moved to adopt the budget resolution and to authorize filing two excess-levy appeal resolutions (one for the township and one for fire/EMS). The motions were seconded and the board voted in favor; the transcript records verbal assent but does not list individual vote tallies.
Why it matters: the adopted budget sets Walnut Township’s spending plan and reserves for 2026 planning and allows the township to pursue an excess-levy adjustment that, if approved by the state, would increase the township’s available levy capacity without raising the tax rate for taxpayers who would otherwise see a shrinking share due to assessed-value growth.
The board signed the adopted resolution and the two application packets for submission (the excess-levy application deadline mentioned in the meeting packet is Oct. 21). The board plans to finalize any remaining ordinance language and to upload signed documents for the audit process.
