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Madison Township. appropriates remaining ARPA dollars

Madison Township. appropriates remaining ARPA dollars

MADISON TOWNSHIP — Madison Township trustees approved four resolutions at a special meeting Friday afternoon, allocating remaining funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.

These approved expenses include:

  • $14,950 for a new snow plow truck for the road service
  • One-time multi-purpose Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) fee and labor costs of $1,518.98 for the installation of two call boxes, one at each fire station.
  • $4,345 for five desktop computers and installation costs for the fire department
  • Approximately $76,571.34 in administrative costs for the statutory salaries of four employees

Madison Township received $938,778.99 from ARPA, enacted in March 2021. On Friday, the township allocated all of its funds.

The directors also approved a number of ARPA resolutions during their most recent meeting. Finance Manager Leanna Rhodes said some salary figures in one of Friday’s resolutions could change slightly after the last pay period of the year.

“When we have the final numbers after the last pay period, we will most likely come back and change those numbers,” Rhodes said. “OPERS inferences and predicting certain variables are labor intensive.”

Administrator Jim Houser, who announced his resignation from the position of director due to a cancer diagnosis, chose to accept two statutory increases during her term – totaling more than $14,000 since 2022. Former trustee Cathy Swank also elected accept a statutory increase in 2022.

Rhodes said the township will have spent approximately $76,571 in calendar year 2024 on statutory salaries for Houser, herself, the deputy finance officer and the zoning inspector.

Trustees Tom Craft and Dan Fletcher each turned down the extra money when given the chance. Rhodes also won temporary additional salary thanks to ARPA funds.

The nearly $1 million in ARPA funds pushed Madison Township to an operating budget of more than $6 million for 2022 and 2023, allowing trustees to decide whether to accept higher trustee salaries. elevated according to Ohio Revised Code Wage Regulations.

Separately, Fletcher said he and Craft want to interview candidates and appoint someone to Houser’s seat in the new year. Houser was elected trustee in 2017 and re-elected in 2021.

If someone is appointed to his term, he or she will serve until 2026.