Mercer Township proposed a balanced budget of $710,270, with no tax increase in 2024 at a meeting Monday, Dec. 18.

At $414,223, the township’s highest expense is highway and street maintenance.

“The cost of the increase in oil has increased the blacktop we would use for paving and the tar that we use for tar and (chipping),” supervisor chairman John Benett Jr. said. “The cost of the materials has greatly increased, and then you throw the cost of labor in.”

Benett said the township has seen a “steady increase in the cost of products since 2020.”

“The liquid fuels (allocation) doesn’t go up a lot,” he said. “We’ve got to make do with what we get. As of right now, we haven’t seen a need to increase taxes.”

Going into the new year, he said Mercer Township’s biggest priority is public and road safety.

“We always have to be mindful about the safety of our roadways,” he said.

Once the 2024 budget is adopted, township supervisors will begin discussing capital projects, Benett said.