Oct 12, 2015 2 min read

CARMICHAELS – Cumberland Township supervisors divided up their nearly $1 million allotment of Act 13 impact fee money – the most given to any municipality in the state – while bracing for that number to drop significantly next year as Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling in the area tapers off.

The supervisors voted during a continued meeting Monday afternoon to distribute the $918,147 in drilling money with the majority of funds going to pay for the township’s police and fire departments.

The allocation of the drilling impact fee money to Cumberland Township is the highest in the state. Morris Township in Greene County receives the third largest allocation with $865,695 and Morgan Township is sixth on the list with $739,826, according to state statistics.

The supervisors voted to give Cumberland Township’s full-time police department $300,000 this year from the funding, while the Carmichaels, Nemacolin and Crucible volunteer fire departments each will receive $40,000. Another $60,000 will be spent on road projects, $35,000 on improvements to Nemacolin Park and $30,000 on “safe housing” in the township.

The remaining $373,147 will be placed in the township’s capital reserve fund.

Even though the township receives the largest state allocation, the supervisors are expecting less money next year they begin preparing their 2016 budget. The impact fee accounted for nearly 20 percent of the township’s $4.7 million budget this year.

“Things are slowing down,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Groves said. “Whatever we get, we’re grateful.”

Groves said the township expects to also lose $100,000 in earned income taxes as drillers pull back on exploration and production. The township could also lose another $25,000 from the impending closure of Emerald Mine, which reaches slightly into Cumberland.

Also during the meeting, the supervisors voted to purchase a case front end loader from Gross through the state’s bidding contract for $151,712 after receiving a $22,500 credit for trading in the previous 20-year-old loader. The purchase was made using $50,000 each in township money, state fund money and new machinery funds. The remaining $1,712 will come out of the general fund.

“We’ve got the township set up for the next 25 years with new equipment,” Groves said.