LIBERTY — Officials and residents have a better idea of where the township stands with its finances, thanks to a report from Fiscal Officer Matthew Connelly.

He explained to trustees at a regular meeting Monday that while he doesn’t have January’s or February’s balances figured out, they’re sitting at “a little over” $6 million, as the township begins to get its real estate advances.

Connelly said the amount is an improvement from the last several years, noting the township has sat at $4.7 million, $5.3 million and $5.7 million until the current year.

“(Trustee) Devon (Stanley) asked me before we came in here, ‘Are we doing good?’ Yes, we’re doing good,” he said.

Connelly said part of the reason the general fund balance is so high now comes from $450,000 in ARP funds from the county commissioners to help with the township’s Center Park project. The funds are expected to be spent this year.

Connelly said that with the 2025 budget finalized, he and other township employees have been working to set them up to be more efficient.

“What I mean is, we have fraud protection at the bank, online with checks and making sure there’s no fraud on the account; we’re depositing checks through a little machine that I can get immediate access to those funds right away,” he said. “We’re set up for FedEx Business, Amazon Business for Government, and EZ Pass, which saves half the tolls when our employees use the turnpike.”

Connelly said these efforts are making the department heads’ lives easier on the accounting side.

Stanley thanked Connelly for his efforts during his final remarks, saying that since he has joined the township, streamlining things has helped them “a lot.”

“There were times where our police were going over to the gas station and the Speedway card wasn’t working, and that was something you had to inherit, help us fix,” Stanley told Connelly. “I can’t thank you enough.”

In other business, trustees:

• Promoted David Rankin to sergeant, effective Dec. 22, 2024.

• Promoted part-time firefighter / paramedic Kenneth Jones to probationary full-time status at a rate of $22 per hour.

• Approved ending probationary firefighter John Greene’s employment, effective March 7.

• Approved hiring Julian Dillard as a probationary full-time firefighter EMT, pending a successful pre-employment drug testing and background check.

• Approved purchasing a 2006 International /Horizon Squad ambulance from Bristol Township for $5,000.

• Accepted assistant zoning inspector Laura Fulmer’s resignation, effective immediately.