Taxes could increase 5 percent in Allentown and 3.5 percent in Upper Freehold.
By: Frank C. D’Amico
UPPER FREEHOLD – Voters will decide April 17 whether to approve a $17.6 million budget for the Upper Freehold Regional School District, a spending plan that would result in a 5 percent school tax increase in Allentown and a 3.5 percent increase in Upper Freehold.
The Board of Education on Wednesday introduced the 2001-02 budget, which is an increase of approximately $400,000 from the current one.
Superintendent Robert Connelly said the school tax rate for Allentown will increase 9.5 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation to $1.98 per $100 if the budget is approved. In Upper Freehold, the tax rate would be $1.85 per $100, an increase of 6.4 cents.
If approved, the owner of a house in Upper Freehold assessed at the township average of $208,000 would pay $3,848 in school taxes for 2001-02, an increase of $125.
The owner of a house in Allentown assessed at the borough average of $150,000 would pay $2,970 in school taxes, an increase of $150.
Dr. Connelly attributed the increase in the budget to several factors: salaries, additional staff and heating fuel costs.