Trustees approve 2022 appropriations for $14.6 million budget

by Laura Bednar

March 21 township trustees meeting

Bath Township Fiscal Officer Gregory Thewes presented trustees with the list of 2022 permanent appropriations, which outlines where township funds will be allocated throughout the year.

Trustees approved the budget of almost $14.6 million. According to March 2022 township financial details, the top five largest allocations were $3.8 million for police, $2.8 million for the general fund, $2.4 million for the road and bridge fund, $2.4 million for fire and $706,526 for park services.

The categories that accounted for the remainder of the budget include the Bath Center Building, solid waste district, road services, street lighting assessments, cemetery services, and gasoline tax fund among others.

The parks department will again partner with Davey Resource Group for invasive species control in Bath Nature Preserve. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources defines an invasive species as a non-native plant that can spread and cause damage to the environment, economy or human health.

Areas including the Garden Bowl, Moore’s Chapel and Bath Creek will be treated with chemical herbicides, which Davey Resource Group applied last year using drones.

Trustees also approved the purchase of a new snowblower for the parks and service department’s skid steer for $9,025. “There’s been an increase in large snowstorms throughout the year,” Parks Director Alan Garner said.

He explained the blower can throw snow as far as 30 feet, which is helpful when there are no open areas to put snow in tight areas like cul-de-sacs. ∞