Haverford’s Budget Looks Good for 2013

Haverford Township’s budget is looking good for 2013, said its manager Larry Gentile.

The township staff presented a mid-year review to the Board of Commissioners. on Monday. The good news is that the township is under budget so far this year.

The township’s millage is 6.992, far below the school district’s at 26.7305 but above the county at 5.452 mills.

Gentile pointed out that Public Safety and Public Works, including the staff salaries therein, were the top two areas of expenditures that the township currently makes.

“If everything continues to go as we believe it will, we will be far under budget,” Gentile told Haverford Patch. Still, “You can prepare as much as you want, but you never know about the unexpected. We try to budget for emergencies.”

Haverford has been making great strides in collecting delinquent taxes. Over the past three years, Gentile estimated that the township collected a few hundred thousand dollars in delinquent trash, sewer and business taxes thanks to a new auditing program.

Also, over the past five years, it has cut $1.5 million in salaries from the operating budget, he said. Gentile said the township is sharing more resources with neighboring municipalities, investing in its successful programs and keeping spending in check, all making for “a very good financial outlook.”

Gentile said that the services offered by the township, including police, waste collection and parks and recreation costs less to the average homeowner than what they pay for monthly cable services.