SAYREVILLE — Amendments to the proposed 2000 municipal budget will keep the tax rate increase at 4-cents.
The Borough Council approved the amendment at its meeting last Wednesday.
The proposed $35,078,401 budget calls for a 53 cent per $100 of assessed value increase. The 4-cent increase will equal a $54 hike for an average homeowner with a home assessed at $135,000.
The borough recently received $50,000 in state extraordinary aid, which helped offset the tax rate.
This year’s budget will include several projects.
A $465,000 bond ordinance passed in March will finance repairs to several borough-owned buildings, including a $230,000 sprinkler system for the Public Safety Complex, $125,000 for a new roof for the President’s Park Firehouse and $30,000 for carpeting at the senior center, as well as $80,000 for improvements to the municipal court.
The council also bonded for $170,000 to install a traffic signal at the intersection of Main Street and Pulaski Avenue last February, as well as $150,000 for improvements to the Leprechaun field complex in March, all of which are included in the capital budget.
The borough has also allocated $20,000 for a feasibility study on the drainage for Kennedy Park in this year’s budget, with an additional $280,000 anticipated for 2001.
The borough is anticipating that most of the work on that project, costing approximately $200,000, will affect the side of the park closest to the Pizza Hut.
The 2000 budget will not include an estimated $3.5 million for a new public works garage, a project that is sorely needed, according to officials.
The public works garage project may be put on the 2001 municipal budget.
The council will likely introduce the proposed budget as an ordinance at its July meeting.