Conewago's 2015 budget funds preservation project; building renovations

Conewago Township officials have adopted a balanced 2015 budget with no increase in real estate taxes for the second consecutive year.

The approved budget keeps the tax mill rate at 2.0109, meaning the owner of a home assessed at $200,000 will continue to pay about $402 in municipal property taxes.

The township's balanced 2015 budget is about $2,925,000, and includes transferring $232,000 from a reserve fund to the general fund to help pay for renovations to the township administration office and police department, said township secretary/treasurer Keith Whittaker.

The township has a plan to pay itself back over a period of 10 years with interest.

Hanover-Adams officials finalize 2015 spending plans

Officials plan to spend about $1,542,000 on police expenses, including $225,000 for the construction/renovations of the police portion of the township's office building at 541 Oxford Ave.

Another expense is fire protection at $171,000, with that amount including $48,000 for public fire hydrants, $22,000 for workers' compensation and the $51,000 per year set aside every year since 2009 expressly for the Southeastern Adams Volunteer Emergency Services building project, said Whittaker.

Conewago officials plan to spend a portion of the township's funds on an Adams County project that will help with land preservation.

The funding for the project was a new line item in the township's budget last year, and supervisors spent $75,000 to pay half of the township's contribution toward a land preservation project that is being headed by Adams County.

At that time, Conewago Township officials had agreed to pay up to $150,000 over the period of two years to help Adams County pay for the preservation of approximately 475 acres of farmland adjacent to the historic Conewago Chapel. The preservation project was done to insure that property is never sold or used as residential or commercial development, said the supervisors.

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Conewago's 2015 budget funds preservation project; building renovations