The Lambertville City Council hopes to drop the tax rate by 2.1 cents per $100 of assessed property value.
By: Cynthia Williamson
LAMBERTVILLE The average city homeowner would pay less in municipal taxes this year under a proposed 2001 budget unanimously introduced by the City Council on Saturday.
And while the reduction in taxes for municipal purposes can only be measured in cents, 75 cents to be precise, in the bigger picture the overall $2.85 million budget is down about $193,009 from last year’s $3.04 million spending plan.
The proposed $1,040,499 tax levy also is down, about $6,000 from last year’s $1,046,530.
A homeowner assessed at the city average of $174,708 would pay $529.37 in 2001 municipal taxes, compared to $530.12 last year.
The new tax rate is 30.3 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, compared to 32.4 cents last year.
The budget also would be supported with $420,327 in surplus, $202,500 from payment of delinquent taxes and $1.18 million from "miscellaneous revenues."
A public hearing on the proposed budget is set for 7:30 p.m. April 16 at City Hall.
"I spent a lot of time on this, as I usually do," Mayor David Del Vecchio said. "Fortunately, it was able to work out in a way that addresses the services people want and doesn’t cost taxpayers any more money."
He said the city has realized a savings by starting new police officers at a lower salary and making adjustments in the salary guide so it takes officers longer to reach the high-end of the scale.
The city also is spending "significantly less" on legal expenses, Mr. Del Vecchio said.
On the expense side of the budget, the spending plan will appropriate $1.78 million toward salaries and wages for the city’s 60 full- and part-time employees and another $1.04 million for "other expenses."
The council is tentatively set to introduce a salary and wage ordinance March 19 that would grant "in general" 3.6 percent raises to most employees, which is the same increase police officers are receiving this year.
The budget would set aside $43,319 for capital improvements and $123,650 for payment of debt service, compared to last year’s $75,202.