Pennsylvania Township Had a $1M Surplus. And Did This

A Pennsylvania township with more money than it anticipated from increased property tax collection has decided to give the dividends to residents, the AP reports. Middletown Township in Bucks County sent 14,361 checks for $68 each to all owners of properties with structures on them. Efforts to keep town expenses down while increasing delinquent-tax collection led to more money than anticipated in the general fund. The township board of supervisors decided to divide a $1 million portion of the surplus evenly among property owners.

Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Amy Strouse tells the Bucks County Courier Times it's irresponsible for a township to hang on to that level of funding when it has "the opportunity to help people out a little bit. And if $70 is going to help somebody out a little bit with their medical bills, with putting food on the table for the next month or making their mortgage payment, then that's not an opportunity that I'm willing to pass up." Strouse says residents feel as though they pay too much in taxes.

(More budget surplus stories.)