No tax rate increase in Pennington budget for 2003

If budget is adopted, owner of a property assessed at $229,000 (the borough average) would continue to pay $1,328.20 for municipal purposes in 2003.

By John Tredrea
   Pennington’s municipal tax rate for 2003 would be 58 cents per $100 of assessed property value, the same as last year, if the Borough Council adopts a proposed $1,279,408 budget for 2003.
   If the budget is adopted, the owner of a property assessed at $229,000 (the borough average) would continue to pay $1,328.20 for municipal purposes in 2003.
   The Borough Council voted unanimously to introduce the budget at a brief special meeting Monday night. A public hearing and adoption vote on the budget will take place during council’s regularly scheduled June 2 meeting, which will be held at Borough Hall at 7 p.m.
   Under state law, at least 28 days must pass between a municipal government’s introduction of a budget and that government’s adoption vote on the budget. Now that the budget has been introduced, it will be available for public inspection at Borough Hall, as state law requires.
   The budget also will be published in the form of a legal notice during the 28-day period.
   Mayor Jim Loper and Councilman E. Weed Tucker said the budget introduced Monday night basically maintains the status quo. There are no new jobs, no layoffs and no significant cuts in services or addition of new services in the proposed budget, they said.