LOGAN TWP. For the third year in a row, the municipal government here was able to keep a stable tax rate an achievement Mayor Frank Minor attributes to years of careful planning.

The township council has introduced a $9.17 million budget for the 2010 calendar year.

If approved during the first week of June, it will require taxpayers to fund $2,073,278 of the total budget.

The levy is just $37,700 less than 2009 and keeps the tax rate exactly the same at 33.5 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation.

Under that rate, the owner of a home assessed at $150,000 will continue paying about $502 a year for municipal services.

This year, the township is spending $3.1 million on salaries and wages an increase of about $205,000. It was also able to set aside more money for capital improvements $665,500 this year, which is an increase of about $275,000.

That money will be used for road improvements, Minor said.

About $3.3 million in surplus funds are being used to offset a tax hike, which is about $520,400 more than what was used in 2009.

Less state aid is also being received this year, but Minor said that didn't affect them as it could have.

"We never budget for municipal aid," he said. "We've been very fortunate with the work of our department heads, CFO and council to once again produce a budget that provides no tax increase."

The money being paid toward debt service has also been nearly cut in half, after the township was "very aggressive" last year in making payments. This year, only $526,000 will be paid for outstanding debt and interest.

There are also no layoffs or furloughs. Since last year, however, eight positions have been lost through attrition.

"We practice a very strict fiscal responsibility in how we manage our town and our resources," Minor said.

The mayor noted that only about 10 percent of all taxes collected in the township go to municipal services.

"We don't have a whole lot of money to work with," he said.

A public hearing on the budget will be held June 1 at 7 p.m. in the municipal building, located at 125 Main St., Bridgeport.