Perrysville's July 4th parade and a summer fishing derby are back on the Ross community calendar.

Township Commissioner Lana Mazur told her colleagues last week that she had commitments from individuals and businesses to cover 100 percent of the costs for the events.

The parade and fishing contest were among a half-dozen community events cut from the Ross budget for 2010 as the commissioners sought to head off an increase in the property tax rate.

Mrs. Mazur said she had obtained pledges totaling $2,800 for the fishing tournament and $1,400 for the Perrysville parade. At the March 8 commissioners meeting, she was given approval to officially solicit funds for the events.

The fishing contest is set for July 17 and 18 in Evergreen Park. The Perrysville parade will be July 4 along Route 19 through the village.

Eliminating municipal funding for those two events plus a July 4th fireworks show and a fall community day saved the township $34,000 this year.

A car cruise also is back on the schedule for Sept. 11 at the Shoppes at Northway, Mrs. Mazur said. No township contributions are needed for that event.

Plans are being worked out for an Indian Spring festival in Evergreen Park, the site of a spring that, according to legend, provided life-saving drinking water for a young Indian couple.

Commissioner Chris Eyster asked whether any legal or ethical issues were raised by commissioners seeking contributions from businesses or individuals for community activities.

Solicitor Bonnie Brimmeier said no laws forbid such solicitation. Commissioners, however, should make clear that donors should not expect any favored treatment in return, she said.

The fishing tournament and the parade began as nonmunicipal events, Mrs. Mazur noted. They started receiving township funding only in recent years, she said.

Commissioner Dan DeMarco said he remained unhappy that funding for community events had been trimmed from the budget.

He had supported an increase in the property tax rate in lieu of major budget cuts, which included a 90 percent reduction in funding for street repairs and repaving.

"I don't have a problem with [people showing] community spirit by making donations," Commissioners President Daniel Kinross said.

In other business, commissioners introduced an ordinance that would require newly elected commissioners to contribute 5 percent of the cost of their health insurance premiums. If approved next month, the requirement would take effect Jan. 1, 2014.

The reason for the almost four-year wait to make contributions mandatory is a constitutional issue, Ms. Brimmeier said. The state Constitution forbids changing the "emoluments" given elected officials during their terms of office, meaning their pay or fringe benefits cannot be cut during that time.

Commissioners elected in 2011 and 2013 will know when they run for office that, if elected, they will pay a portion of their health insurance premiums starting in 2014, she said.

Commissioners had sought to require insurance premium contributions to begin this year but were stymied by the constitutional ban.

Several commissioners have been making voluntary contributions toward health insurance costs.

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