Monroe residents first to take advantage of Domestic Partnership Act
By:Joseph Harvie
JAMESBURG Borough residents may see a minimal, or no, tax increase this year thanks to $225,000 in state extraordinary aid and Homeland Security police aid, said borough Business Administrator Denise Jawidzik.
The borough received $175,000 in extraordinary aid and $50,000 in Homeland Security police aid.
The Homeland Security police aid is given to municipalities to help provide property tax relief through assistance to police budgets to help offset the costs of increased security needs.
Extraordinary aid is given to municipalities with limited tax bases whose property tax increases are a particular hardship.
Funding for these programs comes from the Fiscal Year 2005 state budget, which took effect on July 1.
Ms. Jawidzik said there is a chance the borough could see no increase in taxes this year, and said at the most the increase would be 1 cent per $100 of assessed valuation. She said she is still waiting to talk to state officials to get the final numbers approved.
The Borough Council could adopt its 2004 municipal budget as soon as Wednesday, Ms. Jawidzik said, but she was not sure if this will happen because she has yet to get final numbers approved from the state.
In a press release, Jamesburg Mayor Tony LaMantia said the aid will help control increases in borough taxes.
"The aid is vital to our efforts to keep municipal taxes in Jamesburg under control," Mayor LaMantia said in the release. "This aid is proof that all the hard work I and our borough financial officer, Denise Jawidzik, have done in partnership with Assemblywoman (Linda) Greenstein has paid off and will benefit all Jamesburg residents."
The borough introduced a $2.6 million 2004 municipal budget in March. The plan is $279,914 more than last year’s budget. Without the extraordinary aid, the municipal tax rate would have increased 10.6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to $1.032 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Under that rate, the owner of a home assessed at the borough average of $123,000 could pay $1,269 in municipal taxes in 2004, an increase of $130.
With the extraordinary aid the tax rate could remain at 92 cents. Under that rate, the owner of a home assessed at the borough average would pay $1,132 per $100 of assessed valuation.
Among the increases included in this year’s spending plan are $23,200 to buy new computers for the borough’s finance, general ledger, tax collection, sewer utility, pay roll, revenue and fixed assets. There also is a $15,300 increase, from $62,050 to $77,350, for insurance chargeable to the Borough Court; $14,100 in salaries, wages and other expenses for police dispatching and 911, up from $91,700 to $105,800; and $14,365 more for library costs, from $95,768 to $110,133.
This year Jamesburg asked for about $200,000 in extraordinary aid to help with reducing or eliminating the need to increase municipal taxes. The borough received $205,000 in extraordinary aid last year, $250,000 in 2002 and $350,000 in 2001.