Nov 11, 2015 2 min read

North Franklin Township should end 2016 with a healthy surplus under a tentative budget introduced Tuesday that does not call for a real estate tax increase.

The proposed $1.9 million budget introduced Tuesday indicates the township will end the year with a $2.7 million fund balance, township records show.

“We’re careful about where we spend our money,” Supervisor Martha Ward said. “Right now it seems like we’re doing OK.”

The upcoming spending plan earmarks $902,680 to cover the police department’s expenses and it includes a $106,000 contribution to the local fire department, the document indicates.

In other business, supervisors hired Ty Bell as a full-time police officer, beginning Jan. 3.

The also board conducted a public hearing Tuesday on a revamped ordinance governing the Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling industry, one that resulted from a cooperative effort with Hopewell, Independence, Smith, Donegal and North Strabane townships.

“We had the benefit of having a lot of eyes on this,” township solicitor Gary Sweat said.

The ordinance, to be adopted next month, includes new language to address situations the municipalities faced as the industry boomed, and it is something the drillers “can live with,” Sweat said.

“It’s been a long time in drafting,” he said.

The new ordinance addresses the use of above-ground water storage tanks now that the industry has been moving away from storing its water in impoundments, or large manmade dams. It also requires drillers to coordinate operating times to avoid clogging roads during school bus schedules, Sweat said.