GOVERNMENT Union Township budget approved

A new pension plan was also approved for full-time township police officers.
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Union Township police will be on the street 24 hours per day, records will be computerized and a code enforcement will be stepped up in 2005 -- without raising taxes.
That good news came as supervisors approved a $1.03 million budget by a 2-1 vote.
Supervisors Steve Galizia and Pat Angiolelli were in favor, but Supervisor Kevin Guinaugh voted no. He said the police department takes too great a share from the township general fund and said he would like to see a half mill public safety tax imposed to raise $104,000. The township has not raised taxes in 15 years and Guinaugh said earlier this month it is time to do so.
New pavilion
The budget also includes a $35,000 grant match for a covered pavilion to be built at Scotland Meadows Park. To fund all the new programs, several road workers were put on temporary layoff and will take a wage cut for the first three months of the year and police agreed to a one-year wage freeze.
Galizia said estimates call for the township to end the year with an $84,000 surplus instead of the $78,000 originally projected.
Also Thursday, supervisors approved a pension plan under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Pension Trust for full-time township police officers. The township's only full-timer is Police Chief Joe Lombardo.
The plan replaces an annual $2,000 contribution to an IRA. The township will pay $13,000 per year for three years. In the fourth year, the township's contribution will decrease and state will begin contributing.
The participant will contribute 5 percent of his salary and will be vested after 10 years. Monthly retirement benefits are equal to 50 percent of the participant's averaged final three years' earnings.
A surviving spouse of a vested participant who dies in service to the township would receive annual benefits calculated at 100 percent of the salary at the time of death. If there is no spouse, benefits would go to a minor dependent until age 18 or 23 if they attend college.
Generous benefit
Former supervisor Clair Damon, a retired state policeman, said the death in service benefit is more generous than most police departments offer and could be a financial burden for the township.
Supervisors also hired Philip Weiner to audit the township books for $6,000, the same fee as this year.