The Niles Township board approved its 2012 budget at Monday’s board meeting.
The $1.86 million budget is down from last year’s $1.93 million ledger.
Township Clerk Marge Durm-Hiatt said the township benefited from the results of the 2010 U.S. Census. The township’s population was up 6.3 percent, which helped in terms of revenue sharing, Durm-Hiatt said.
The board approved the budget by a 6-1 vote with Supervisor Jim Kidwell casting the only no vote.
Kidwell’s proposed budget called for the township cutting ties with the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department in favor of a township police department — a move he argued would save the township several thousand dollars.
The rest of the board disagreed and approved the budget without that provision.