Taxes to remain at last year’s level following budget cuts
By: Jake Uitti and Kara Fitzpatrick
MONTGOMERY The township committee approved a $30.1 million municipal budget Thursday by a 4-1 vote.
The 2006 budget represents a $1.2 million decrease from last year’s spending plan.
Although the budget did not pass unanimously Committeeman John Warms dissented Republican Committeeman Mark Caliguire, who has not supported a budget since being elected to the Township Committee in 2003, voted in favor of the spending plan.
"This will be the first time I vote for a budget since I’ve been up here," said Mr. Caliguire, who also served two earlier stints on the governing body as an appointed successor to Republican committee members who had resigned.
Mr. Caliguire said he supported the budget this year because it represents a spending reduction. "I am happy to see that the capital portion is going down," he said.
With the 2006 spending plan, the municipal tax rate will remain at 22.5 cents per $100 of assessed value. The owner of a home assessed at the Montgomery average of about $514,000 will pay about $1,157 in municipal taxes in 2006, the same as in 2005.
The township was able to decrease the total budget by cutting about $3 million from the capital improvement plan and keeping the increases to the operating budget which takes into account salary increases, fuel costs and vehicle replacement to a minimum, officials said.
The township earmarked about $2.1 million for capital improvements, including road projects, heavy equipment and upgraded communications equipment for emergency response.
Township officials noted that the 2006 budget relies less on surplus than in the past, so despite the budget decrease, the municipal portion of the property tax bill will not change.
Township Chief Financial Officer Randy Bahr said the budget was "sound" and credited the Township Committee for being "very open to the public during the whole process."
Mr. Warms said he opposed the budget, in part, because it included $5,000 for an English-as-a-second-language program that he said was not the responsibility of the township to fund. Mr. Warms said the ESL program "should be paid for by individuals themselves as it normally is by any community with adult schools."
Mr. Warms said he also took issue with the allotment of funds to purchase the Donald Drake Farm for preservation. "I think there is a better alternative," Mr. Warms said of the township’s proposed acquisition of the farm.
On Monday, Mr. Warms elaborated. "The fact is that I believe Madison Marquette would make a similar offer to the Drakes," he said, adding that if the developer of the proposed Montgomery Promenade on a nearby property did buy the farm, "30 percent (of the farmland) would be left for open space. We’d also get more development for the shopping center and offices and that would give us more ratables that we need to neutralize the increases in taxes."
While township residents will not see an increase in municipal taxes this year, they should expect a "genuinely modest" municipal tax increase next year in order to accomplish planned road projects, Mayor Louise Wilson said.
"There’s no certainty that taxes will go up," she said in an interview Monday. "But I personally think it’s likely that each household will see a modest increase in 2007 something in the neighborhood of $50 to $75 per household."
She added, "I’m proud of this year’s budget. It is a very tight budget. We worked hard on being able to keep the tax rate stable for the fifth year in a row."
Deputy Mayor Cecilia Birge said the spending plan is responsible. "With this budget, our surplus still remains healthy, our credit rating remains high," she said.
The public hearing on the budget produced little reaction from the small audience. Robert Kress, who recently announced his resignation as chairman of the township’s Transportation Advisory Committee because of a difference in opinion with Mayor Wilson over the proposed Hillsborough Bypass, inquired about overall planning for the township capital budget.
"It might be prudent to look at those projects that have been considered and assign specific funding to them," Mr. Kress said.
Major increases in the 2006 municipal budget include a 146-percent increase in pensions, and 12-percent increases in health benefits, insurance and the reserve for uncollected taxes.
The budget also includes funds for replacement police officers, new recreation programs, road improvements, new roads and traffic light installation.
The 2006 total estimated tax rate including school, municipal, county, open-space, library and fire district taxes will be about $2.36 per $100 of assessed value.
In the next few years, despite the possible tax-rate increases, Township Committee members said they anticipated some increased revenue to come from new ratables, such as the Sharbell and Madison Marquette developments.

