By Sandi carpello
Staff Writer
JAMESBURG — In an effort to compensate for the recent unexpected loss of $100,000 in state aid, the Borough Council voted Monday to adopt an amended municipal budget carrying a greater municipal tax increase.
Mayor Anthony LaMantia said the 2002 budget simply maintains existing municipal services. The $4.3 million package, he said, contains "no frills" and no new programs.
According to Borough Business Administrator Denise Jawidzik, the municipal tax rate will increase by approximately 9.2 cents per $100 of assessed value. Jamesburg homeowners with property assessed at the borough average of $122,000 would pay about $130 more in annual municipal taxes. Officials previously said the tax rate increase would be more in the range of 3 to 5 cents if all the state aid came through.
Due to the borough’s lack of commercial and light industrial properties, the new tax increase will primarily fall on the homeowners.
Borough officials were notified last month that they would receive $250,000 in extraordinary aid this year, which was $100,000 less than the amount they anticipated receiving in the initial 2002 budget. The borough received $350,000 in extraordinary aid the prior year.
The cut in aid can be attributed to the state’s $6 billion deficit, said state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Susan Bass Levin.
According to LaMantia, the borough is especially in need of new public works vehicles. However, due to the new budget constraints, it will not have the money to purchase them.
LaMantia, along with state Assemblywoman Linda R. Greenstein and Assemblyman Gary Guear (both D-14), and state Sen. Peter Inverso (R-14), are not ready to back down. The legislators said they will continue to fight for state aid and are currently seeking other applicable grants to abate the borough’s fiscal plight.
In a letter dated July 24, Greenstein and Guear assured LaMantia that they were "committed to assisting Jamesburg in procuring grants that would prevent the interruption of local services." According to the letter, the grants can pay for road improvements, local police, fire and emergency equipment, as well as park and playground operations.
"[The legislators] are in constant contact with me and I can’t want any more than that," said LaMantia.
Inverso, along with his chief of staff, Steven P. Cook, and deputy chief of staff, Tom Breslin, are also working to garner additional aid for Jamesburg. On July 11, Inverso wrote a letter of appeal to the DCA requesting the lost $100,000.
In response, Levin agreed Monday to schedule a meeting with LaMantia and other borough representatives in order to discuss the matter. The date of the meeting was not determined.
Inverso, in a letter sent to Levin on Tuesday, said a meeting with himself, LaMantia and the DCA official would "provide an excellent opportunity for everyone to have a thorough dialogue on this important issue."
"While Jamesburg understands the need to develop a budget based on last year’s state aid figures, the borough was taken by surprise by a $100,000 reduction in extraordinary aid when the factors that justified last year’s award have not changed," Inverso wrote.
LaMantia said he does not want the borough to be permanently dependent on extraordinary aid. The municipality, however, does need some financial assistance until it can reach that point, he said.
The mayor noted that the recent approval for the construction of a CVS and an office building on Forsgate Drive is expected to add tax revenue to the borough’s coffers next year and in future years.