A public hearing on the township’s proposed budget of $3,228,129 will be held May 2.
By: Linda Seida
WEST AMWELL Property taxes will be going up in the township if the proposed 2007 budget of $3,228,129 is approved next month.
The tax levy, which is the amount that will be raised through local taxes, would increase from $335,816 in 2006 to $517,218 in 2007. The tax rate would increase from 6.6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation in 2006 to 9.9 cents per $100 of assessed valuation in 2007.
The increase can be attributed in part to several factors. These include contractual increases for police salaries, the expected hiring of a new full-time officer, the rising cost of health benefits for employees and required contributions to police and public employee pension funds, according to Chief Financial Officer Jane Luhrs.
The Township Committee will vote on the budget after a public hearing May 2. The meeting will begin at 7:45 p.m. at the municipal building at 150 Rocktown-Lambertville Road.
For the owner of a house assessed at the township average of $451,759, the tax bill in 2007 for municipal services would be $447.24. In 2006, the owner of a house assessed at the average of $444,855 paid $293.60.
In addition, property owners will face an additional 6-cent open space tax on every $100 of assessed valuation for preservation. Voters agreed in 2004 to increase the tax to 6 cents from 4 cents, which was the rate since 2001. The tax began as 2 cents in 2000.
The township’s contribution to the police pension fund is rising to $24,700, an increase of $11,200. The township’s contribution to the public employees pension fund is rising to $17,300, an increase of $7,100. The salary for a new full-time officer is budgeted at about $40,000.
The township now has five full-time officers but needs one more to allow a decrease of overtime and keep up with patrols as it provides 24-hour coverage, Ms. Luhrs said.
The total budgeted for police salaries and wages in 2007 is $560,000. This represents an increase of $60,000 over 2006.
Another increase comes in the category of health benefits. They’re rising by $26,000, Ms. Luhrs said.
Also contributing to the budget increase is a need to replenish the surplus. The township drew $676,500 from the surplus in 2006 to balance the budget. To balance it in 2007, the township will draw $500,000 from surplus.
This would leave a balance in surplus of a little more than $266,400.
The township’s legal fees in 2007 are budgeted at $177,000, about $20,000 less than last year. The figure includes attorneys’ fees for the ongoing remediation of the three private wells contaminated by the township’s supply of road salt in 2001, and the pending litigation of a suit filed by the Fulper family over its General Development Plan.
"I know it’s difficult to raise taxes," Ms. Luhrs said of the Township Committee. "I really think they had to do what they had to do because you can’t keep drawing from surplus. And what can you do about public safety and pensions? They were all things that needed to be done, every one of them."