After state aid falls short of amount needed to avoid
a big increase in taxes, officials are looking to cut
By:Roger Alvarado
Borough officials are set to disclose what cuts they plan in order to make up a $1.8 million shortfall in the borough’s $11.5 million proposed budget at a special session of the Borough Council slated for this evening.
The meeting, at which it is expected that budget amendments will be made, will take place at 6 p.m. at Borough Hall.
Last week, Mayor Angelo Corradino announced that substantial cuts would be necessary after the borough learned that it would receive just $200,000 of the $2 million in state aid it requested. In 2003, the borough received $300,000.
The borough will receive a further $70,000 from the state, which can only be used for property-tax relief and to offset what has been spent on homeland security, Mayor Corradino said.
"We’ve had to cut almost $1.8 million out of the budget," Mayor Corradino said Monday. "Now it’s down to its bare essentials."
The mayor reiterated the notion that department heads will have to make do with roughly 10 to 20 percent less than originally budgeted.
The mayor now says he anticipates no more than a 5.9-cent increase in the tax rate and once the school increase is factored in, taxpayer bills for the year will increase between $190 and $210 for owners of property assessed at the borough average of $138,000.
Last year, the Borough Council adopted a $10.5 million municipal budget, including $300,000 in state aid.
In March, the borough formally introduced a tentative spending plan which would have seen the municipal property tax rate soar by 60 percent before knowing what state discretionary aid figures would be.
Under the plan, the average homeowner with a home assessed at $150,000 would see a municipal tax increase of roughly $600 this year. The municipal tax rate would climb by 40 cents per $100 assessed property value, going from 67 cents to $1.07 a whopping 60 percent increase for an average yearly bill of $1,605.
Approximately $2.58 million of the current budget plan would be used to pay for police salaries and wages and other expenses, which represents a $60,000 2.38 percent increase from 2003. Another $1.9 million would be used to pay for Department of Public Works’ salaries and wages and other expenses, a $185,000 (10.8 percent) increase from 2003. The Recreation Department would see a slight $13,000 increase, 7.8 percent, to $180,000.
The borough has been working under a temporary budget while awaiting aid figures from the state.