Photo by Joseph Bell
Horton Township supervisor Dennis Thompson, center, reviews a copy of the proposed 2010 budget along with fellow supervisors Fred Wolff, left, and John Carlson.

By Joseph Bell

Staff Writer

BROCKPORT – With a proposed budget giving Horton Township a net income of $20,645, supervisors discussed several options last night for appropriating the funds in order to finalize the document.
The supervisors altered the budget in order to set aside an additional $5,000 to the Horton Township fire department to offset the costs associated with a dry hydrant purchase.
“Since we still have $15,645, we can put it in equipment purchases,” supervisor Dennis Thompson said. “I don’t know if we plan on purchasing anything at all.”
Fellow supervisor Fred Wolff Jr. mentioned the possibility of purchasing a front-end loader but no official action was taken.
There were several noticeable comparisons shed in a negative light in regards to the budget, particularly a $10,000 decrease in realty transfer tax income.
“Last year, we took in $15,000 for the realty transfer tax but that’s gone down,” Thompson said. “Licenses and permits are about the same as what we did last year. Fines last year were $5,900, that’s what we took in. Total interest last year was $11,400. For this, I estimate it at $6,000.”
Township officials also foresee taking a negative hit on the motor vehicle fuel taxes.
“The motor vehicle tax last year was $89,499, that’s liquid fuel money that we get from the state,” Thompson said. “This year, they’re saying we’re going to get $82,050 so it’s down a few thousand dollars.”
The total income reported on the proposed budget totals $279,280.
Expenses to elected officials and auditors remain unchanged compared to last year’s numbers, except for a $1,000 raise to the tax collector, bringing that total to $4,500.
For the fire department, fuel costs are targeted at $1,500 with a $12,600 expense for fire taxes.
“We always give them about $5,000 for the matching fund and we pay Brockway $300 a year to take care of the hydrants,” Thompson said.
While Carlson said the budget is fairly close to last year, less revenue has been generated.
“We’ve taken in a lot less money because of the interest rates and stuff like that,” Thompson said. “It costs us more, things just went up and up and up.
“I don’t want to raise taxes but we’re going to have to think about doing something.”
According to the supervisors, the last tax increase occurred at least six years ago at one mill.
“For now, it’s a balanced budget with no increases in taxes,” Thompson said.
The budget will be posted and advertised, and supervisors are scheduled to pass it at the Dec. 8 meeting.