Hearing set for borough’s budget

Borough Council awaits public comment on its proposed $5.8 million budget.

By: Bill Greenwood
   JAMESBURG — A proposed tax levy cap will not affect the borough’s proposed 2007 budget, but it could create a stir next year, borough officials said.
   The cap legislation, awaiting a signature from Gov. Jon Corzine, would put a 4 percent limit on increases to the property tax levy starting next year.
   That could result in cuts to services provided by the borough that are not mandated by the state, he said.
   This year, however, the borough is hoping to avert a tax increase with help from the state.
   The $5.28 million budget, introduced Feb. 28, would increase the tax levy, or total amount to be raised in taxes, by $352,923, or 13.33 percent, to $3 million and increase the municipal tax rate 14 cents to $1.243 per $100 of assessed valuation. At that rate, the owner of a house assessed at the borough average of $124,000 would pay $1,541 in municipal taxes, $173 more than last year.
   The Borough Council will hold a budget hearing at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Borough Hall but is not likely to approve the spending plan until it hears from the state about a $335,000 request for extraordinary aid — a special aid category distributed to towns with limited tax bases whose property tax increases are considered a hardship. The request is for $85,000 more than it received in 2006.
   If the state granted the request in full, there would be no tax increase, according to Business Administrator Denise Jawidzik.
   Mayor LaMantia said the proposed budget — which is $85,240, or 1.64 percent, more than the 2006 tab — is a "100 percent maintenance budget." He said "anything outside the realm of normal operation" — like park or curb projects — is paid for by grant money, not local taxes.
   "Everything in the budget is strictly to maintain the town and keep it going," he said.
   He said the borough could attempt to prepare for the new cap by padding the 2007 budget in order to create a larger tax levy this year — and creating a larger base for next year’s cap. That, however, would drive up the tax rate, he said.
   "We have not done that for the last seven or eight years, and I refuse to do that," he said. "That’s not fair to the taxpayers."
   The alternatives appear to be a cut in services next year if the tax levy cap is signed into law. The budget would need to make room for several state mandates that must be funded by the town.
   Ms. Jawidzik said some of these mandates include a required funding of the public library; an affordable housing program that has required the hiring of a municipal housing liaison at $3,000 per year; storm-water management rules that required the hiring of a fourth Road Department employee at $50,000 a year; and increased paperwork that drives up the cost of contracts.
   She said the borough could be forced to make cuts next year in services not mandated by the state, like Public Works and police, and in nonessential services like trash removal if the tax levy cap is signed into law.
   "We’re going to end up keeping some mandated items in the town, and we’re going to have to start laying off services," Mayor LaMantia said.
   "There’s got to be some exceptions put into the (law)," he said.
   Ms. Jawidzik said the state should apply the cap only to unmandated services. She said those are the services that taxpayers want and are willing to pay for.
   "Our residents want these services," she said. "They are not going to be happy" if some of them need to be cut because of state interference.
   Mayor Lamantia said he sent the governor a letter and plans to meet with state officials to discuss how Jamesburg would be affected by the cap.
   Under the proposed budget, police salaries and wages would increase by $62,000 to $1.42 million, contributions to the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System would increase by $56,024 to $150,542, and contributions to the Public Employees’ Retirement System would increase by $12,830 to $28,830. In addition, a state mandate would cause library expenses to increase by $24,822 to $170,472.
   If the budget is approved, the borough would set aside $40,000 less for capital improvements than in 2006, bringing that number to $150,000. It also would pay $225,309 in debt service, $31,798 less than in 2006.