Pike Township Holds Budget Hearing

(posted Nov 13)

The Pike Township Board will review the proposed $26,695,989 budget for 2009 during the next two weeks before their November 25 meeting where the budget will come up for a vote.

The board's November 11 public hearing shed very little information about the budget details. It provided a forum for taxpayers to ask questions or make comments. However, no taxpayers attended other than department heads and elected officials.

Trustee Lula Patton said she could not comment on estimated amounts of employee pay raises until the budget is passed.

Crowe Horwath financial advisor Herschel Frierson explained the township will raise about $11,599,275 from property taxes and the rest of the funds will be generated from miscellaneous revenues and loans. The debt service is $5,289,167 to cover interest from borrowing money in 2008.

Frierson told the board that $4,941,794,971civil net assessed valuation for 2007-2008 still has not been certified by the county or state. The fire department's $4,615,324,146 valuation is also pending certification. The two net assessed values have two separate tax rates. The fire department's valuation is lower because it has certain pockets in the township, like the Clermont area, that it does not serve.