Though costs ran “considerably more” than expected, renovation of the township’s cemeteries has reached the halfway point.

Turkey Creek Township Trustee Barb Griffith reported Monday, Aug. 10, the charges totaled $56,567.50 for tombstone and memorial marker remediation, tree removal, landscaping and debris removal.

The township had budgeted $30,000, so Griffith requested additional appropriation of $26,567.50 from the township’s savings account.

The vote is scheduled for next month to allow Griffith time to notify the public of the expenditures.

The board unanimously approved a resolution to authorize Griffith and her clerk to use a credit card to purchase office supplies and pay for travel and related expenses to attend duty-related conventions and other meetings.

Monday’s meeting served as a public hearing for the 2016 proposed township budget, though no members of the public attended to speak on the issue. The $2,116,362 budget is expected to be approved at the Sept. 14 meeting.

Fire Chief Mickey Scott submitted his monthly report, including the July vehicle maintenance report and year-to-date expenditures.

Scott reported the department responded to 163 calls (22 fire and 141 EMS) last month, a jump of 47 calls compared to June’s total. “That translates to five or six calls a day,” he said.

“That is the most I have ever seen,” he said, though he saw no discernible reason for the uptick. “It’s just one of those things,” he noted.

In other business, Scott reported:

• The railroad crossings at East Bishop Road, East Wawasee Drive and CR 1000E are closed, but will reopen before the crossing at SR 13 (Huntington Street) closes beginning Monday, Aug. 24. “We have made arrangements to work around this situation to the best of our ability in the event of an emergency,” he said, noting the department maintains apparatus and manpower north and south of the tracks.

• The department took delivery of its new grass and brush truck. The 2015 vehicle replaced the department’s 1998 model. The truck will be used to combat grass and brush fires, conduct otherwise inaccessible off-road rescues, tow the rescue boat and plow snow. “We would like to say ‘thank you’ to the taxpayers of the Turkey Creek Fire Territory,” said Scott.

• The department is planning one or more fundraisers to help defray the cost of new physical fitness equipment.

• Bids are still coming in for paving the east and south lots of Station 1 and completing the paving around Station 2. The department also received an estimate for improving the building exterior of Station 1. The board unanimously approved $95,640 for both projects.

• The department’s billing company reported revenues of $109,293.85 for EMS runs the first six months of 2015, representing 34 percent more than the national average of revenue per run.

• The department has advertised for bids for a 2016 ambulance to replace its current 2002 model.

• The annual Firefighter MDA Fill-the-Boot Drive is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, at the intersection of South Huntington Street and Pickwick Drive.

• Budget expenditures are “pretty much in line” through July. With more than half the budget year elapsed, the department has spent less than 40 percent of its allotted budget.

The board next meets at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, at Syracuse Town Hall.