Township taxes may increase 10 percent

Preliminary 2005 East Windsor municipal budget includes a tax rate increase of almost 4 cents.

By: Marisa Maldonado
   EAST WINDSOR — The largest tax increase the township has seen in at least 10 years is included in the preliminary 2005 budget that the Township Council started to review Tuesday.
   The increase of almost 4 cents, which would put the tax rate at 44.6 cents per $100 of assessed property value, comes after 10 years of relatively flat tax rates, said Mayor Janice Mironov. A resident whose house is assessed at $130,000 would pay $580 in municipal taxes, a $51 increase from last year.
   The municipal tax is a portion of the overall property tax rate, which is comprised of the school district tax, a Mercer County tax, and county levies for open space and the library system. Last year’s total tax rate was $4.14 per $100 of assessed property value.
   But flat municipal aid — the township received $4.7 million this year from the state, the same as last year — has caused an increase in taxes, the mayor said.
   Unexpected costs — the township this year must pay pensions for the Police and Fire departments, which the state used to cover — also added to a larger budget, she said.
   The budget, which has increased 8 percent from last year’s $16.8 million budget, includes the addition of two police officers. The mayor said the Police Department most likely will add to the uniform patrol unit.
   "In light of the growth in the community, based on the information and recommendations (from the police)," Mayor Mironov said, "the council decided that it would be an appropriate step to add two police officers."
   No employees or programs would be cut under the proposed budget, the mayor said.
   The cost of health insurance, which has seen the largest increase, would increase by $678,588 to almost $3 million. Employee salaries have increased by $338,000 to $8.7 million.
   "Everyone’s wages are going up — that’s the normal cost of living increase for employees," the mayor said.
   The township’s tax base also increased by $27.3 million this year to $1.4 billion, which the mayor attributed to increased residential and commercial development. But the increase was smaller this year than in previous years, the mayor said.
   Despite the tax increase, the mayor noted that tax rates remained virtually flat over the past decade. The tax rate was 40 cents per $100 of assessed property value in 1995 and was at 40.7 cents 10 years later in 2005.
   "Obviously we’d rather never raise the rate," Mayor Mironov said. "But over that period of time, we’ve worked very hard to oversee the expenditures of that town, provide for very prudent but good and responsible budgets."