New state aid has little impact

$13,158 increase in state aid doesn’t change proposed tax rate.

By: Lacey Korevec
   A small increase in state aid isn’t expected to have much of an impact on the amount of municipal taxes residents are expected to pay next year.
   The township received an additional $13,158 in municipal property tax assistance from the state, and Chief Financial Officer Denise Marabello said the money will be used to offset the amount to be raised by taxes, lowering it from $6.496 million to $6.483 million.
   However, since it would take $185,622 to cut 1 cent from the municipal tax rate, the aid will have little effect.
   With the extra money, the township is expected to receive $706,288 in state aid for 2007, increasing the proposed tab to $12.2 million from $12.1 million budget.
   The budget carries a tax rate of 35 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Under that rate, the owner of a home assessed at the new township average of $673,176 would pay $2,356 in municipal taxes.
   "It won’t have a big effect on people because the tax rate is staying the same," Ms. Marabello said.
   The committee will hold a public hearing on the budget March 12 at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of Town Hall.
   The 2006 budget carried a tax rate of 85 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, costing the owner of a house assessed at the township average $1,865 in municipal taxes.
   But the new tax rate cannot be compared with the 2006 rate because of a township property revaluation that increased the value of all property in the township, lowering the tax rate. As a result of the revaluation, the average residential assessment increased from $219,439 to $673,176. The revaluation will affect every property owner differently.
   The township will also be using more money from surplus than originally anticipated. The Township Committee had proposed using $1.06 million from its surplus account, but will now use $1.2 million. Ms. Marabello said the increase is because the township decided not to use its Reserve for Development Fees and its Reserve for Sewer Fare Share as revenue this year and to instead use more from the surplus.
   The township also decided to use approximately $70,000 in revenue from its fire official expenses, which it hasn’t used in previous years. Ms. Marabello said the amount allowed them to increase spending in some areas, including operating expenses and salaries and wages, but all of the increases are balanced out by the additional revenue.
   "We increased our revenues to match up with the increase in appropriations," she said. "So, our budget only increased slightly but so did our revenue. The tax rate didn’t increase even though we had to amend the budget."
   Ms. Marabello said some numbers were also moved around within the document because the budget was structured to meet state requirements.
   "It was more how we presented the document than actual numbers that were changing," she said.