Woodlands Township’s Board of Directors is preparing for its budget workshop next week to optimize its preliminary base budget of $ 131.2 million for 2022.
The base budget of $ 131.2 million is a 2.1 percent decrease from the 2021 budget of $ 133.9 million.
Monique Sharp, deputy general director of finance and administrator of the municipality, presented the preliminary budget to the board on July 28th. She noted that the preliminary budget is taken into account assuming the tax rate of 22.31 cents per $ 100 home valuation remains the same.
“This is a very good representation of where we are now with our 2022 base budget,” she said.
The budget, Sharp said, will maintain the current level of service, contractual agreements and new growth for both commercial and residential buildings. The budget also includes changing economic factors and continues investment projects already approved by the board.
She added that the budget did not yet contain any new initiatives from the Board of Directors.
Preliminary operating income for the community is $ 134.2 million, up 5.1 percent from 2021. The main source of income for the community, around 50 percent, is sales and hotel taxes. The property tax makes up about 36 percent, the remaining 16 percent comes from other sources.
The preliminary budget is approximately $ 57.9 million in sales taxes and $ 7.3 in hotel taxes.
Sharp said the top community expenditures are firefighters at $ 26.4 million, parks and recreation at $ 24.2 million, community services at $ 20.2 million, and law enforcement at $ 13.2 million U.S. dollar.
Fire Department sees $ 523,508 increase from 2021 and parks and recreation facilities increase $ 436,303.
“Those increases that you see (in the fire department and in parks and recreational facilities) are almost entirely personal,” Sharp said, adding that the budget includes a 2.25 percent wage increase.
The large community order will see minor changes, but Sharp said the street scene maintenance could decrease. This item is currently valued at $ 5.8 million.
“Information will come to the board on various road maintenance options that will likely lower that number,” said Share. “We don’t expect an increase, we expect a pretty significant decrease.”
The congregation begins on Monday at 8:30 a.m. with budget workshops that last daily through Friday.