Annual Meeting slated in Northport

Salary increases, a public hearing on the proposed 2007-08 budget, and a review of activities are among items up for discussion Saturday at Leelanau Township’s Annual Meeting.

The meeting begins at 10 a.m. at the township fire station on Eighth Street in Northport. The Township Board will also hold a special meeting immediately after the Annual Meeting adjourns to adopt the proposed budget.

The board approved a salary resolution at its Feb. 13 meeting that will give each member a 3.7 percent pay increase.

At the Annual Meeting, if the electorate takes no action the resolution will go into effect on April 1. The electorate can also increase board member’s pay further, or keep the salaries at current levels.

Following is a list of board members’ positions and salary increases if the pay raises go through as presented:
• Supervisor James Neve, from $29,000 to $30,073.
• Clerk Deb Van Pelt, from $30,260 to $31,380.
• Treasurer Denise Dunn, from $35,475 to $36,788.
• Trustees Gary Fredrickson and Victor Goldschmidt, from $1,213 to $1,258, and per diem payments, from $55 to $57. Trustees receive the per diems for attending special meetings and for serving on any appointed township commission or board.

The proposed 2007-08 budget calls for overall expenditures of $1,709,684, down 2.8 percent from the amended current fiscal year budget total of $1,759,582. The township is estimating total revenues of $1,920,530, down 1.4 percent from $1,948,241.

Proposed general fund expenditures are set at $691,042, down 15.6 percent from $819,271. General fund revenues are also expected to drop 20 percent from $838,192 to $670,875. Van Pelt said she could not immediately determine why general fund expenditures will be down some $128,000 compared to the current fiscal year.

Emergency services fund expenditures are set to increase by 1.8 percent from $698,545 to $711,096. Van Pelt said most of the increase will go toward pay increases for personnel, and equipment needs for the department.

The largest expenditure increase comes in the facilities fund, where $121,200 is slated for use in the coming fiscal year, up by more than 100 percent from the $58,946 budgeted last year. The township will make improvements to Woolsey Memorial Airport, and consider some road improvement projects in the next fiscal year.

The township’s overall year-end balance are expected to jump from $872,633, the projected balance as of March 31, 2007, to $1,083,479 by March 31, 2008. Copies of the proposed budget are available at the township hall in Northport.

Another topic that is likely to discussed is the ongoing joint sewer project with the Village of Northport. The deadline for bids on the project is Monday, April 2. Bids are expected to be let in May.