AUSTINTOWN — The township will not return a police levy to the ballot next year but will ask voters to help maintain the general fund with a renewal.

Township trustees on Monday approved a renewal request for an 0.60-mill levy that generates about $400,000 to $420,000 per year. As it stands, the levy costs the owner of a $100,000 home about $45 per year, though that may have gone up to $47 after last year’s state-mandated reappraisal of property values, trustees said.

“This is a renewal, not a request for new money,” Trustee Robert Santos said. “It is just contributing to our general fund. Our police department does rely heavily upon our general fund, though, so we need to maintain it for that and other reasons.”

Santos said the general fund also supports the zoning department and the administration building.

Township Admin-istrator Mark D’Apolito said the five-year levy collects through 2025, so it needs to be approved next year to renew for 2026.

In November, township voters turned down a 2.4-mill levy that would have generated $2.26 million for police services, by a margin of 52% to 48%.

Township officials said the costs of policing have increased to the point that the department will be into the general fund for about $1 million by the end of this year. The new levy was intended to preserve state contributions that would have been lost if the township sought a replacement levy.

Officials said the township cut $200,000 from the police budget by minimizing training programs, changing the way the department staffs policing shifts and deferring some vehicle replacement costs.

The department also will not replace an officer who is retiring in January, nor another who is set to retire later next year. Other officers who retire or leave the department also will not be replaced, including four existing vacancies.

On Monday, trustees also approved several smaller expenses in an effort to save money wherever possible.

Nonunion salaried department heads will no longer receive an annual $1,250 uniform allowance. Instead, the police and fire chiefs will be reimbursed up to $400 once per year for uniform replacement.

The township also will not pay for CPR training for department heads or special skills training for the police chief, each of which costs about $500 per training session.

Trustees cut out attendance bonuses and compensation for nonuse of sick leave, as well, which cost $160 and $80 per person per half-year.

For the fire chief, the township also cut coverage of EMT training at a cost of $1,500 and paramedic training at a cost of $4,000.