Freeholders to vote on $435M spending plan

BY DICK METZGAR Staff Writer

BY DICK METZGAR
Staff Writer

The cost of running Monmouth County continues to rise steadily, but the county’s tax rate has continued to decrease at the same time.

The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders recently introduced a $435,548,909 spending package for 2005, an increase of $19.6 million, or 4.7 percent, over the $416 million budget for 2004.

At the same time, the tax rate has dipped to 30 cents per $100 of equalized valuation, the lowest tax rate in memory, according to figures released by Mark E. Acker, the county’s finance director. The tax rate for 2005 is down from 33.4 cents per $100 in 2004, and that amount was down from 37.22 cents per $100 in 2003.

Two decades ago, in 1984, the county tax rate was 54 cents per $100 of equalized valuation.

The tax levy to support the 2005 spending package will be $269,650,000, an increase of $8,897,626, or 3.4 percent, over the 2004 figure.

Most of the spending increase can be attributed to health benefits, salary obligations that have been reached through negotiations, and the cost of utilities, according to Acker.

A public hearing on the 2005 budget is scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Monmouth County Hall of Records, East Main Street, Freehold.

The tax rate phenomenon is made possible by the county’s ever-increasing tax base (equalized property valuation), Acker said.

According to county figures, the county’s equalized valuation is now up to $89.85 billion, an increase of approximately $11.7 billion, or 15 percent, over 2004’s total of $78 billion.

The actual county tax rate can vary from one municipality to another depending upon each of the county’s 53 municipalities’ property values.

Using the projected tax rate of 30 cents per $100:

• a person with property valued at $100,000 will pay $300 in Monmouth County taxes in 2005 (down from $334 in 2004);

• a person with property valued at $200,000 will pay $600 in county taxes (down from $668 in 2004);

• a person with property valued at $300,000 will pay $900 in county taxes (down from $1,002 in 2004);

• a person with property valued at $400,000 will pay $1,200 in county taxes (down from $1,336 in 2004);

• a person with property valued at $500,000 will pay $1,500 in county taxes (down from $1,670 in 2004).

The county tax is only one part of a property owner’s total tax bill. The other taxes that are included on a property tax bill are municipal taxes, local school taxes, regional school taxes (if applicable), a county library tax (if applicable), a

county open space tax, a fire district tax (if applicable) and a local open space tax (if applicable).

In some municipalities properties are assessed at less than their true market value. To compensate and equalize the tax burden throughout the county, a higher tax rate is applied in these towns to collect county taxes as if the properties were assessed at their true market value.

As usual, human services and health will account for the biggest portion of the 2005 county spending package, 23 percent, or about $93 million, up about $4.7 million, or 5.4 percent, over 2004’s figure of $88 million.

Public safety functions will eat up the second largest slice of the spending package at $79.8 million, up about $1.3 million from last year’s amount of $78.5 million.

Debt service will cost Monmouth County about $45.9 million this year, up about $628,000 from 2004’s figure of $45.3 million.

Next in line on the spending chart is insurance costs at $43.2 million, up about $2.5 million from last year’s amount of $40.7 million.

Taxes raised from the county’s property owners account for approximately 62 percent of all revenues. Acker said that figure has remained constant over time.

For example, the county budget in 1954 was $5 million and called for a tax levy of $3 million.

“That tax levy was about 60 percent of the total budget, just as it is today,” Acker said. “This year’s tax levy is actually 62 percent of the proposed spending plan.”

Officials will use $42 million from the county’s fund balance (surplus) to fund 10 percent of the budget.

The county anticipates receiving $39.7 million in total state aid (9 percent of all revenues), up about $2 million from $37.7 million in 2004.

Miscellaneous revenues (8 percent), Monmouth County Care Centers (5 percent), other special items (4 percent) and total state and federal revenues offset with appropriations (2 percent) account for the rest of the revenues.