Linwood supervisors accepted the results of the 2015 Linwood Township Audit at the June 28 meeting.
Jill Schultz, of Smith Schafer Associates, summarized the report. The state mandates for audits are to check contracting and bidding, deposits and investments, conflicts of interest, public indebtedness, claims and disbursements, and miscellaneous provisions.
Property tax revenues increased less than 1 percent from 2013 to 2015. Property taxes are the primary source of revenue to operate the township at 78 percent. Non-levy revenue comes from intergovernmental transfers, licenses and permits, charges for services, interest, and donations.
In March, Linwood residents approved a 2017 levy in the amount of $1.6 million, a 6.67 percent increase over last year. From 2009 through 2016, the levy has been $1.5 million, dropping once to $1.425 million in 2010.
General government expenditures include wages and salaries, elections, Sunrise River Water Management Organization, recycling and other general government functions. Those expenditures made up 36 percent of 2015 government expenditures, excluding capital expenditures and debt service.
The total amount of non-capital, non-debt service expenditures in 2015 was $442,730, which is an increase of $25,683 from 2014. The purchase of a new plow truck accounts for most of the increase. The township had capital debt only for a fire truck lease. Capital bonding for the town hall renovation will be reflected in the 2016 audit.
Public safety expenditures accounted for $425,245, or about 35 percent of the budget, and it decreased $35,952 from the previous year. Most of the decrease is attributed to a decrease in firefighters, wages and related expenses.
Public works expenditures totaled $213,180 in 2015, or 18 percent of the budget. This is a decrease of about 43 percent from the $371,330 spent in 2014. There were not major street repairs in 2015 because bids were high for the projects considered.
Expenditures for parks and recreation totaled $62,927, less than a 1 percent increase from 2014. Parks is about 5 percent of the budget.
Senior activities counts for the final portion of the budget, about 6 percent. Expenses totaled $69,273 in 2015. This is an increase of about 15 percent from 2014, a result of more support services.
Reserves are expressed as a percentage of general fund expenditures. The general consensus is that reserves should be about 50 percent of the budget to provide cash flow until county sends the property tax check to the township. Linwood has a healthy reserve at 86 percent of its budget this year.
Shultz noted the difficulty of segregating duties in the township. This applies particularly to financial operations. Staff is small, frequently one person per department. It is not practical to have a larger staff. Many small cities face the same challenge. There were no material mistakes in the audit.
Wages
After a wage increase by a staff member, Supervisor Carol Searing proposed considering the wage structure of employees rather than considering each staffer on a piecemeal basis.
“(We) need to consider everyone, need consistency,” she concluded.
Township Treasurer Carrie Luedtke, proposed an external market assessment to determine what prevailing wages are for various jobs. She suggested compensation which retains employees rather than training new ones. The board agreed to form a study committee comprised of Luedtke, Office Administrator Pam Olson and Supervisors Mike Halliday, and Phil Osterhus to consider job descriptions and comparable compensation.
Parking
The board approved a modified version of the parking ordinance. The main changes are that vehicles cannot be parked on a roadway which obstructs emergency vehicles or obstructs traffic. No vehicles are to be parked on the shoulder continuously for more than 72 hours.
Seasonal parking is from Nov. 1 through May 1. No vehicle can be parked on the shoulder (non-driving portion of right of way) in a way which obstructs or impedes snow removal trucks.
The original ordinance came right from the state Department of Transportation. The changes in language are specific to roadway and non-roadway (shoulder) surfaces and the amount of time parking is allowed.
In others business, the board:
– Approved a small speed bump in the town hall parking lot.
– Authorized hiring the “Toonies” environmental show for Linwood Family Fun Day. The contract with the group is $700.