Dipping into savings, the Independence Township Board rescued Deer Lake Beach for the summer.
Board members stayed until past midnight Feb. 20 to hammer out budget issues plaguing the township for months. In a series of discussions and votes, the board reinstated Deer Lake Beach programs, set fund-balance limits, and amended the 2007 budget.
Mike Turk, Parks and Recreation Department director, presented a range of proposals for reviving the beach program, ranging from Option 1, ‘swim at your own risk,? costing $6,300, to Option 4, a continuation of most of 2006’s schedule, for $35,466.
The board chose Option 4. User fees will increase from $1 to $1.25. Beach hours will be from 12-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on the weekends. Opening day is set for June 9, with a Sept. 3 closer.
The board also agreed to set limit to the fund balance from 20-40 percent. The limit is not legally enforceable, but would let planners know if they are saving too much or too little, said Steve Joppich, township attorney.
‘It’s a management tool,? Joppich said.
The limit was discussed at a Special Workshop Meeting Feb. 13. Wagner cancelled the meeting that morning, but Clerk Shelagh Vanderveen, Treasurer Jim Wenger, and Trustees Daniel Travis and Larry Rosse voted to have the meeting anyway.
At the meeting, the four members of the board, who formed a quorum, approved immediate advertising for life guards for the Parks and Rec.
At the Feb. 20 meeting, board members were split on proposed budget adjustment, voting 4-3 to approve nine amendments:
? Elimination of an office support position in the Building Department, saving $30,000. The employee will be transferred to the Department of Public Works;
? Decrease full-time salaries in all General Fund departments by $35,000, $10,000 of which in Parks and Rec;
? Six amendments to increase funding for Parks and Rec – $10,000 for Minor Sports, $11,000 for special events, $23,500 for Deer Lake Beach, $21,400 for overtime, $8,410 for conferences, and $6,900 for phone service; and
? Transfer $61,200 from the General Fund to Parks and Rec.
One proposed budget amendment, elimination of a part-time support position in the Treasurer’s Office to cut $11,200, was deleted from the list at the Wenger’s request.
‘I run an efficient department,? Wenger said. ‘Next year, tell me how much I can have to run the department.?
Approving the 2007 budget this past December, which needed so many budget adjustments, was a mistake, said Trustee Dan Kelly.
‘We let the supervisor and the administration off the hook,? said Kelly, who voted against the budget in December.
Kelly, Wenger and Trustee Dan Travis voted against the budget amendments. Wagner, Vanderveen, and Trustee Charles Dunn voted in favor.
The township should make budget cuts equally in all departments, Travis said.
‘What’s wrong with freezing the budget across the board,? he said. ‘It’s totally inappropriate for Parks and Recreation to have to shoulder this.?
To balance the budget, Wagner said the township can raise fees, ask for a millage-increase vote, or make more cuts.