It's great to be a Palmerian! Last night I attended our annual Palmer Township business meeting. On the agenda were decisions to be made on outlays and support, from: gopher bounty to the lake association; road maintenance to fire protection; Earth Day cleanup (Saturday, May 20th) to contributions to the Clearwater Library & the Historical Society; and Palmer Park to the tax levy. 

 

Moderator Alan Peterson created a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere in tune with the residents in attendance and conducted a meeting that I felt was an example for the rest of our government. Our supervisors and treasurer did not attempt to influence the decisions of the citizens attending. They answered all questions and explained underlying issues so voters could make informed decisions. During these discussions it quickly became clear our township is blessed with a colorful assortment of characters that readily contribute their best in behalf of our community. 

 

The township has a huge challenge maintaining the township roadways. Replacing worn out road is very expensive and there are concerns about getting what is paid for, even just doing repairs. Someone has to monitor the work and materials used. That's time, money and hassle. This makes high quality maintenance the best short-term option, but it is a big budget item.

 

Another budget challenge is predicting the future. The best guess is based on using the data from 2016 to predict what expenses will need to be covered in 2019. (The 2017 approved levy generates tax money assessed in 2018 that essentially becomes available to the township for 2019 expenses.) 

 

Our community was at its best when it came time to decide on the tax levy. Examples of the cost to taxpayers for different levies were shown. However, owners of agricultural property were denied such examples. Apparently the county cannot determine this in advance of the actual taxing. This placed agrarians in the uncomfortable position of giving the government a blank check for taxation if they approved any levy increase. Needless to say, agrarians voted against the levy. The levy discussion was thorough and friendly. People disagreed but nobody was disagreeable. The township supervisors and treasurer explained the budget. Costs and reasons for budget items were explained and scenarios of the future discussed. 

 

A 12% increase in the tax levy for the township was passed. Everybody parted as friends and neighbors.