Freeholders approve $242.4 million budget.
By: Marjorie Censer
The Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders unanimously approved a $242.4 million budget Tuesday night, putting in place the final piece of the 2005 property tax rate for area municipalities.
The final tax rates have not yet been certified by the county, but Princeton Borough, Princeton Township and West Windsor will all face 5- to 6-cent increases per $100 of assessed property value in county tax rates.
The property tax has three major components: municipal, school and county. The school budgets were passed in April, and the municipal budgets in May, making Tuesday’s county tax rate the final element.
The Mercer County budget provides for an official tax rate of $53.5 cents per $100 of assessed property value, a decrease from last year’s figure of 54.6 cents. Because county taxes are adjusted to reflect the difference between municipal property assessments and the market value of a given property, each municipality has a different "equalized" tax rate.
Princeton Borough will pay a county tax of 98 cents per $100 of assessed property value, up from 92 cents last year. With a school tax rate of $1.70 per $100 of assessed property value, a municipal tax rate of 91 cents per $100 of assessed property value (including the 1-cent open space tax rate) and a county open space tax rate of 5 cents, the total property tax rate will be $3.64 per $100 of assessed property value.
Under this tax rate, the owner of a home assessed at the borough average of $347,138 will pay $12,636 in property taxes. Robert Bruschi, borough administrator, cautioned that these numbers are still tentative, as they are unconfirmed by Mercer County.
Princeton Township’s county tax rate will rise from last year’s 85-cent rate to 91 cents per $100 of assessed property value. Residents will pay $1.55 per $100 of assessed property value in school taxes; 70.5 cents per $100 of assessed property value in municipal taxes and municipal open space tax; and a county open space tax of 5 cents. The total property tax rate will be $3.215 per $100 of assessed property value.
The owner of a home assessed at the township average of $418,097 will pay $13,442 in property taxes. Kathryn Shaddow, the township’s financial officer, also said the county must certify the rate to establish the final number.
West Windsor’s county tax rate will increase 5 cents, up to 90 cents per $100 of assessed property value. Chief Financial Officer Joanne Louth said the previously passed school tax rate is $2.57 per $100 of assessed property value and the municipal tax rate is 66 cents per $100 of assessed property, which includes a 7-cent municipal open space tax.
Ms. Louth said two taxes remain to be approved: the county library tax and the county open-space tax. She estimated the library rate would be 9 cents, while the open space rate would be 5 cents, bringing the proposed total to $4.27 per $100 of assessed property value. At that rate, the owner of a home assessed at the township average of $239,000 will pay $10,205 in property taxes.