Township Board To Undergo State Budget Review
Turkey Creek Township Trustee Barb Griffith announced Monday, Aug. 16, the township will undergo a routine annual budget review by the state department of local government finance.
The meeting will take place at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23, in Warsaw.
“All entities in the state that have budgets go through the review,” she said.
Griffith reported on the township’s finances for July.
“Poor relief was up but not much,” she said. She noted in her report utility payments totaled $1,678.92, down by about $250 from June and almost $800 from May.
Rent payments for July amounted to $675 and food payments totaled $224.51.
The township also paid a $1,000 retainer fee to Malcolm Associates Inc., the architect involved in the renovations to the Turkey Creek Territory’s two fire stations.
The report detailed July expenditures of $2,800.14 for salaries and operational costs.
Fire Chief Mickey Scott reported the department responded to 122 emergency calls, underwent 457.5 hours of training and has used 58 percent of its budget through July.
Most of the department’s budget line items had used less than half their budget allotments.
The only notable exceptions were dues and training, 75.94 percent; equipment repairs, 73.48 percent; and radio maintenance, 60.93 percent.
Scott also said, “We would like to remind everyone the Wawasee School Corporation is scheduled to begin classes this Thursday, Aug. 17, and to please watch for school-aged children and stop for school buses.”
Scott mentioned he rode along on a school bus route and witnessed “four or five times where cars didn’t stop for the school bus, even when the stop arm was out.”
“It occurs a lot more frequently than you think,” he said. “And kids don’t think about traffic. They just know ‘school is out and I got to get home.’”
According to state law, “even when emergency vehicles are running lights and siren, they have to stop,” he said. That includes “police cars during a chase.”
Scott also reported his department has been working with Wawasee school district officials to “set up pre-plans for the new Syracuse Elementary School should an emergency occur at that location.”
The board will next meet at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11, at Syracuse Town Hall.