Lambertville had to add $5,036 for insurance and police overtime to its $3.9 million spending plan.
By: Linda Seida
LAMBERTVILLE Property taxes could increase a little more than officials initially anticipated, but the increase for the average homeowner would still be less than $5 if the city obtains more state aid for its $3.9 million 2007 budget.
When Mayor David Del Vecchio and members of the City Council met March 19, they increased the proposed 2007 budget by $5,036 for insurance and police overtime.
City Clerk Lori Buckelew said a double-check of the figures revealed $36 more was needed to pay for the city’s insurance, and about $5,000 more should have been included for police overtime. That would raise police overtime from the initially proposed $28,070 to $33,070. Insurance would increase from the initial calculation of $90,503 to $90,539.
The changes will increase the tax levy, which is the part of the budget raised through local taxes, from $1,144,571 to $1,149,607. For the owner of a home assessed at the city average of $360,433, the proposed tax hike will increase from $1.14 to $4.75 per year for a total of $580.30 for municipal services.
The proposed tax rate will change from 16 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to 16.1 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
City employees still can expect to receive a 3-percent salary increase if the city receives the $200,000 in extraordinary aid for which it has applied, according to Mayor Del Vecchio.
"If not, then we’re back to the drawing board," he said.
The state will decide who gets extraordinary aid in June.
Lambertville asked the state for extraordinary aid because the city has had to deal with three floods within a 22-month period. The most recent of the three floods occurred in June 2006.
If the state turns down the city’s request for aid, and no cuts are made to the budget, the tax levy could jump to $1,349,607. That would raise the tax rate to 18.2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a house assessed at the average of $360,433 would end up paying $655.98 a year for municipal services.

