CRANBERRY TWP — Road improvements, new water meters and adding more police officers are among the proposals in the township’s 2017 budget.

Officials are not proposing a tax increase, though the $81.59 million spending plan has a 3 percent increase in expenditures.

The township board of supervisors held a workshop meeting to discuss the budget Wednesday. They can vote next Thursday to advertise the proposed budget.

The property tax rate for the township will remain at 13.25 mills. That tax breaks down as 8.03 mills for general purpose, 2.37 mills for fire, 1 mill for the library, 0.85 of a mill for road equipment and 1 mill for public buildings.

One mill generates $395,980 in revenue for the township. A Cranberry resident with a household income of $94,000 and a property assessed at $24,500 would pay $789 in property and earned income taxes to the township, about 2 percent of their total tax bill, according to township budget documents.

In the $22.1 million general fund budget, the biggest piece is $5.7 million for public safety.

The budget calls for adding four full-time uniformed police officers to the township department over the next two years, township manager Jerry Andree said.

This will take the department to 32 officers. Officials monitor performance levels and look at response times and the number of calls for service to determine police staffing needs, he said.

Projects in the township’s $35 million capital budget include funding the second year of the $48 million Brush Creek Water Pollution Control Facility upgrade and expansion project and the ongoing water meter replacement project. Starting in January, the township will be replacing 7,500 water meters, a project estimated to cost between $2.5 million and $3 million over three years.

Slated transportation improvement projects include the MSA Thruway, a tunnel that will take traffic beneath Route 228 connecting Cranberry Springs, with the new UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, and Cranberry Woods, home to numerous businesses including Westinghouse Electric Company. The project is expected to cost $10 million, though developers will pay for 80 percent of the cost.

The township is planning a second phase of improvements to North Boundary Road. This will include adding sidewalks, improving drainage and realigning the intersection with Franklin Road.

Though Freedom Road is a state road, township officials plan to update a master plan for the road in hopes of receiving funding to expand the road to four lanes between Route 19 and the Beaver County line. The state Department of Transportation is planning to widen the bridge over the Pennsylvania Turnpike in 2018, but a project to widen the rest of the road was abandoned back in 2001. By updating its master plan, the township hopes to attract state and federal funding.

“That’s a high priority of the board,” Andree said.

Township Supervisor Chairman Dick Hadley said the budget was impressive given rising costs such as health insurance.

“We are extremely pleased with the process. I think it’s a very responsible budget,” he said.

Hadley noted that the township is a busy place and the township government provides a large number of services and programs. In the past year, public safety personnel answered 18,500 calls for service, the township parks and golf course have hosted 1.5 million visitors and the township customer service center answered 22,000 calls, according to the township.

“As the machinery of the township moves on, it runs pretty seamlessly and many people aren’t even aware of it,” he said.

After a period of public review, the supervisors can approve the budget at their Dec. 15 meeting.