Chestnuthill Township presented its 2017 proposed budget Tuesday evening, and the bottom line is "no new taxes."

During a board of supervisors meeting earlier this month, Chairman Carl Gould expressed some concern over the proposal by New Jersey Governor Christie to end the long-standing reciprocal earned income tax agreement with neighboring states. Gould's concern was that the township was estimating an up to $100,000 decrease in the amount of earned income tax to be collected from township residents who work in New Jersey."We have done additional research and are confident that if the change goes through, Chestnuthill is more likely to be looking at a $40,000 to $50,000 decrease in tax revenue," said Dave Albright, township manager. "We are able to offset that with an increase in liquid fuels money from the state of about $22,000 and a decrease in our contribution to the 911 control center of about $20,000."The total proposed budget for 2017 is $5,860,944, up slightly from 2016."The budget includes a number of items which are grant specific," Albright said. "These projects are in the budget but will only happen if we are successful and the grants are awarded. Otherwise, the projects will not be completed."The township is also still benefiting from refinancing their municipal bonds during fiscal 2016. This year the township saved approximately $220,000 in bond payments. The money was used to purchase equipment and to pay for it in full at time of purchase, saving the township the cost of financing.The bond refinancing will also save the township $110,000 in 2017. The savings allows the township to continue to upgrade key equipment while saving on payments over time.The millage rate will stay at 6.45 mills, with 5.2 mills for Chestnuthill Township municipal/road budget, 1 mill dedicated fire tax for the West End Fire Company and 0.25 mills dedicated for the West End Ambulance.The budget will be voted on during the Dec. 20 supervisors meeting. The Dec. 6 meeting has been canceled.