Township eyeing stable tax rate

East Windsor’s municipal tax rate will not change for the ninth year in a row.

By: David Pescatore
   EAST WINDSOR — Mayor Janice S. Mironov on Tuesday presented the Township Council with a 2003 budget proposal that would not increase the municipal portion of the property tax rate.
   The current tax rate of approximately 38 cents per $100 of assessed property value has not been increased in nine years, according to Mayor Mironov.
   The owner of a house valued at $100,000 would pay $378 municipal use tax. An average East Windsor single-family house, valued at $165,600, would be taxed $626.
   The proposed budget of $16.7 million is approximately $1 million larger than the township’s 2002 budget. Group health insurance costs, debt payments, and increases in utility prices account for much of the increase in costs.
   "The debt payment increase is more a factor of how debt is structured. Next year the payments go down significantly," Mayor Mironov said.
   She said that a tax increase would not be necessary due to an expanding tax base in the area.
   "The ratable base has risen by over $60 million in 2003," Mayor Mironov said.
   She said that the increase in the value of the tax base was due largely to new businesses which have opened in the last year.
   Mayor Mironov also said the township has been able to preserve the tax rate because it has actively sought other sources of income and has been conservative in both budgeting and spending.
   The Township Council will hold a special meeting 9 a.m. Saturday to review the proposed budget. The review will continue on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
   Mayor Mironov said she hopes to have the proposed budget completed by March.