Leelanau Township residents who attend Saturday's Annual Meeting will be asked about plans to seek the renewal of two property tax millages that expired last year.

The Annual Meeting will start at 10 a.m. in the township fire hall on Eighth Street in Northport. The Township Board will hold a special meeting immediately following to make any necessary changes and then adopt the proposed 2008-09 budget.

Supervisor James Neve said a key topic of discussion will be a proposal by the board to renew two millages that expired on Dec. 2, 2007. The first is a four-year, .4641-mill request that would augment the township’s general fund. Each general law township is allowed by law to levy up to one mill for general fund operations. Neve said since the state Headlee amendment was approved by voters in 1978, the one-mill levy has been rolled back each year since under Headlee rules.

The Township Board will be considering the two millage renewals at its April 9 meeting. Neve plans on having proposed ballot language ready for the board to consider at the April meeting so it can approve the wording in time to get requests on the Aug. 5 Primary election ballot.

Neve said township voters approved a .4208-mill levy for four years in 2004, adding that for 2007 the millage generated $131,737 for the general fund.

The second renewal is a four-year, 2.2-mill request to fund emergency services. Township voters approved a similar request in 2004, and the millage generated $689,048 in 2007.

Neve said both millage requests are important for continued operation of township services. For 2008-09, Neve said the fire and emergency services fund calls for $744,582 in expenditures. However, the department only has $545,570 in expected revenues for the coming fiscal year, leaving a deficit of $199,012.

If the voters don’t approve the request, Neve said the department would run out of funds sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. He said the township could loan money from its general fund to cover the operation cost for the department through March 31, 2009, but that action is unlikely.

At the Annual Meeting, the township electorate will get a chance to act on a salary resolution approved by the Township Board in January seeking 2.3 percent cost of living increases for all the township officers. Neve said the board also included "cost of living" increases for most township employees as part of it proposed 2008-09 budget. The board is seeking the following salary increases:

• Supervisor Neve, from $30,073 to $30,765.

• Clerk Deb Van Pelt, from $31,380 to $32,102.

• Treasurer Denise Dunn, from $36,788 to $37,634.

• Trustees Gary Fredrickson and Victor Goldschmidt, from $1,258 to $1,287. The board moved the per diem trustees receive for attending regular and special meetings of the township board part of general fund expenditures and increased the amount 5.3 percent from $57 to $60.

Township electors may take the following action on the salary resolution at the Annual Meeting:

• Do nothing and have the resolution go into effect as is on April 1, 2008.

• Adjust pay raises as they see fit.

• Keep salaries at their current levels.

• Because this is an election year, residents attending the Annual Meeting may also choose to lower pay for incoming township officials who begin their terms on Nov. 20.

The township has an 11-fund budget seeking $1,821,247 in expenditures, up 6.5 percent from $1,709,684. Estimated revenues are $1,006,574. By adding estimated carry-overs for each of the 11 funds, the township will have $2,403,029 in total revenues available for the 2008-09 budget, an increase of 25 percent from $1,920,530 for 2007-08.

The general fund budget calls for $619,317 in total expenditures for 2008-09, a 14.6 percent decrease from $691,042 for 2007-08. The proposed budget estimates $513,574 in general fund revenues, an 18.7 percent decrease from $631,982. The general fund balance is expected to be $159,012 on April 1, 2008 and would be decreased by 66.5 percent to $53,269 to cover the difference between expenditures and revenues in the proposed budget. Neve said the fund balances would not change if voters approved the proposed general fund additional millage.

Police services fund revenues are estimated to increase 8.9 percent to $195,252 from $179,261. Expenditures are expected to increase 1.8 percent, from $84,500 to $86,000. The township has an agreement with the county Sheriff’s Department to provide a vehicle and full-time deputy to patrol the township and Village of Northport as part of the deputy’s regular schedule.

Facilities fund revenues are expected to jump 31 percent, from $347,812 to $456,726, due mostly to a fund balance increase of 47 percent from $233,980 to $343,622. Facilities fund expenditures will more than double from $47,365 for 2007-08 to $106,625 for 2008-09. Included in that amount is $96,925 for capital improvements to the township hall, library, ball park, Peterson Park, and Woolsey Memorial Airport up 105 percent from $47,265.

Copies of the proposed budget are available for public review at the township hall in Northport.