Kidder Township approves budget with no tax increase

The Kidder Township board of supervisors approved the township budget for 2019 with no new taxes. The township will continue at a millage rate of 6.95. Of that, 3.65 will once again go into the general fund, with 3.3 mills going to the Emergency Services Fund.

The supervisors also approved a two-year extension to the police chief’s contract and approved the hire of a new full-time patrolman.

Jacob Dinkelacker previously worked as a part-time patrolman in the township. Dinkelacker will begin on Jan. 1.

A donation to the township’s hike and bike trails group in the amount of $7,500 was also approved.

Township resident Jim Surmick addressed the supervisors regarding the addition of a “bubbler” to Lake Harmony.

Surmick said he believed that it infringed on his rights as a resident to use the lake during the winter.

Chairman Thomas Bradley said the aeration compressor added to the lake is to help in an effort to remove silt from the lake, which in the long run will improve the quality of the water.

Bradley added that it would take about two years to see an improvement.

Surmick said he believed that it would take more like five years and that the aeration would make the lake more dangerous in the winter.

“It is incumbent on anyone who chooses to walk on a frozen lake to check the thickness of the ice,” said Vice Chairman Thomas LaFond.

“There are warning signs, but if you are going to cross the ice, it’s your responsibility to make sure it is thick enough.”