Liberty police on tight budget

Staff report

LIBERTY

The Liberty Township Police Department is facing a $35,000 deficit at the end of January, said township fiscal officer Steve Shelton.

The deficit concerns him, he said, because he wants to be sure the department does not run out of money before the township is eligible to collect tax-anticipation money Jan. 31.

“They won’t be able to get money from the county until the 31st or Feb. 1, so that last pay is going to be tight,” Shelton said this week.

Shelton said the department will be OK through December, ending the month with $94,000.

He said he will meet with the police chief and the three township trustees within the next two weeks to discuss the situation.

“We’re going to watch what they spend,” he said.

Shelton told trustees at their meeting earlier this month that the police fund had $31,404 less in it Nov. 30 than it did Nov. 30, 2013, and that concerned him.

The fire department, which the township had been worried about since May, when Shelton warned of a potential $225,000 deficit by the end of 2015, will be OK, he said.

The department will be short $16,000, but it will be able to borrow money from the ambulance fund, he said.

The general fund also is smaller this year compared with last, Shelton said. There was $14,853 in it at the end of November compared with $48,644 in 2013, a difference of $33,791.