2003 municipal tab carries
average tax increase of $82
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — A $29.2 million municipal budget for 2003 was adopted by the Township Committee following a public hearing on March 25.
The spending plan represents an increase of $680,500 [2.4 percent] over the 2002 budget and calls for a 2.9-cent increase in the municipal tax rate, from 25.5 to 28.4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
That equates to a $72.50 increase in municipal taxes for the owner of property assessed at $250,000. The average township assessment is $282,600. Those homeowners will see an increase of $82, said Township Administrator Tom Antus.
Municipal taxes are one part of a property owner’s total tax bill. The other assessments include the K-8 school taxes, Freehold Regional High School District taxes, Monmouth County taxes and other assessments.
The 2003 budget includes a tax levy of $8,091,972, up 15 percent over the 2002 municipal tax levy of $7,033,255. The spending plan takes $6.3 million from surplus, leaving $1.1 million in that account. When the budget was introduced three weeks ago, Mayor Raymond Kershaw said $600,000 of that surplus amount came from additional liquor licenses the township approved last year.
The budget spends $3,650,282 on debt service and $143,000 on capital improvements, which is down significantly from $435,360 in capital improvements in the 2002 budget.
The increase, which Antus calls "small," is due to a combination of flat revenues and a minor increase in appropriations, he said.
"State revenues to the township increased only $70,688. In this sluggish economy, interest and investments will be lower in 2003 than in 2002," Antus said, adding that another example of limited revenues is construction permits. Con-struction permit requests are down because of the township’s policy of managed growth which incorporates rezoning and open space, Antus said.
As for appropriations, the single largest increase is $377,000 for snow removal, due mostly to the bad weather this winter, he said.
The second largest increase is in the area of group insurance, followed by police salaries for additional officers.
Also factored into the budget is $8,681,500 for state-mandated programs, which constitute 29.7 percent of the total budget.
In addition to adopting the budget, the committee passed a number of resolutions, including one that supports state Senate bill S-700. That bill would require voter approval when state funds are to be appropriated to finance construction of certain professional sports facilities.
The committee also passed a resolution in support of the American armed forces. The resolution recognizes that, "There are various opinions on the use of was as a means to an end, however, there is no question as to the courage, honor and self-sacrifice of our servicemen and servicewomen."
— Linda DeNicola