At the year's half-way point, Sylvania Township fiscal officer David Simko offered congratulations to department heads and all employees for keeping a close eye on expenditures in the first six months.
He noted that the four main budgetary departments were under 50 percent in spending for the year through the end of June.
Unlike some places, Mr. Simko stressed that the township is stringent in setting annual department budgets, "which means it takes effort to stay within the amounts budgeted for each year."
There are places, he said, which will pass budgets with inflated numbers, allowing for much freer spending.
Sylvania Township also doesn't penalize departments for coming in well under budget.
"In some places, when a department spends a good deal less than they had budgeted let's say on a particular line item, and they come back the next year with a request for about the original amount, they're told no they can't have it. That they showed in the previous year they didn't need that much.
"That can lead to departments scrambling to spend every cent budgeted. We don't do that."
Sylvania Township, he said, has thorough budget discussions by the administration with the head of each department.
He said the annual budget, when it's approved, is an honest look at what spending should be over the year.
The revenue side of the budget, he said, is based primarily on what Lucas County officials determine to be annual tax receipts as well as income from other sources.
Through the first six months, each township department sits near the expected 50 percent of revenue.
Expenditures from the general fund for the same time frame were about $907,000, or 41 percent of the amount budgeted.
The road and bridge fund had spent about $881,000, only 29.9 percent of its annual budget. That percentage is certain to increase when bills are paid for summer road projects.
The police department had spent a total of about $3,670,000, or 47.4 percent of their annual budget and the fire department had spent nearly $4 million, or 43.5 percent.
Mr. Simko said that in recent years the administration has been very open about its finances when dealing with departments as well as unions.
Although there are still disagreements, the openness has led to a spirit of cooperation which has resulted in departments and each employee watching the bottom line, Mr. Simko said.
Written by: Mike Jones, Public Information Officer