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The township reserves have not been decimated. Unless the Town Board has a very large, unbudgeted expenditure that they are planning, the township finances are in excellent shape and actually are overfunded. Note that the Town Board didn't present a proposed budget for consideration at the March, 2020 Annual meeting where the residents voted to approve the tax levy. The last time a proposed budget was presented was back when John Bassing was a Town Board member. This budget process needs to be re started and presented to the residents a couple of months before the tax levy is set at the Annual meeting. That's the way the budgeting process is supposed to work. It probably will require some new members on the Board. John Bassing would go over a proposed budget line by line at a regular Town Board meeting a month or two before the Annual levy setting meeting when he was on the Town Board. Discussion was open and questions were answered. Adjustments were made. It worked. It was open.

Concerning the Tower Area Ambulance Service, which is administered by the City of Tower: At the meeting reported on above, in discussion I stated that the Tower Area Ambulance Service ambulance vehicle replacement subsidy Account (per capita contributions from TAAS members) has been replenished and is now protected by language in the proposed new TAAS Agreement. I also said that the Ambulance Service Account, money that the ambulances earn from runs, has been transferred out of TAAS by the City to cover unrelated City expenses such as the "harbor" project, and has not been replenished. And there has not been language put into the proposed Agreement to protect the fund from unrelated City transfers in the future. Our township attorney recommends in writing that this language be put into the agreement before the agreement is signed by the end of the year. To me it is a no brainer. (The 2019 City of Tower Audit lists $697,299 in ambulance service money as "Due From Other Funds") That's serious money. It needs to be restored and protected. Someone needs to explain to me how an ambulance service can remain viable if the City, that is trusted by the TAAS to administer the operation, takes money out of ambulance earnings and spends it on City expenses.