Dec 10, 2014 2 min read

North Franklin Township will end the year with a healthy budget surplus, even though its business office was hit with nearly $100,000 in unexpected bills this year.

And, the township is expecting to end 2015 with a nearly $400,000 surplus under the terms of a $1.6 million budget that township supervisors adopted Tuesday without raising real estate taxes.

“What saved us was the building permits at the mall that brought in extra money,” Supervisor Martha Ward said following the meeting.

Several new stores were added this year to Washington Crown Center mall, requiring building permits for renovations.

The township brought in $90,000 this year in building permit fees, nearly twice the amount of money raised in that area in 2013, township records indicate.

With three weeks remaining until the new budget takes effect, the township had $500,000 remaining in its general fund, according to the treasurer’s report Tuesday.

The bills this year that were not included in the budget involved repairing the roof on the township building, which also needed to have mold removed from its interior. The Wild Things also paid real estate taxes this year, rather than make their typical payment in lieu of taxes, which reduced township revenues. And the mall received a real estate tax reduction that resulted in a $16,000 loss to North Franklin, said solicitor Gary Sweat.

“We came out OK,” said Supervisor Ron Junko.

Several years ago, members of a previous board of supervisors claimed the township was on the verge of bankruptcy.

The upcoming budget earmarks $797,950 for the local police department and $302,350 for road expenses.

In other business Tuesday, the board agreed to spend $17,000 in donated money for a full-color digital sign for the township building to announce such things as meeting dates and special events.