LONG BRANCH – Residents opposed to the $45 million municipal spending plan are calling the city’s redevelopment efforts a “failure” for not bringing in enough ratables to lower taxes.
At the May 27 public hearing on the municipal budget, city taxpayers asked council to vote down the plan, which calls for a 4.9-cent tax hike.
“With all due respect, for all the hard work you did, you have not figured out a way for these new developers on the oceanfront to pay for our municipal budget,” said Alice Kessler, of Cedar Avenue. “This budget should be voted down.
“When working people cannot afford to go to work because they can’t afford to put gas in their cars,” she said, adding, “You should rethink this.”
Council voted in favor of the budget 4-1, with Councilman Brian Unger being the lone no vote.
Harold Bobrow of Ocean Boulevard said that “in theory” the city should be acquiring more tax money due to all the redevelopment.
“We have a lot of redevelopment,” Bobrow said. “With that redevelopment, with that increase in tax ratables, why are taxes going up?”
His wife, Michelle Bobrow, added, “If all that redevelopment hasn’t changed the net asset of the town, maybe it is time to stop [redeveloping].”
Under the budget, the municipal purposes tax rate of 52.7 cents per $100 of assessed valuation is being increased to 57.6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, according to Long Branch Chief Financial Officer Ronald J. Mehlhorn Sr.
For the average homeowner whose home is assessed at $483,243, taxes will go up $238 annually. City homeowners are being asked to raise a $29,268,645 tax levy under the budget, an increase of $2.5 million.
“Overall, there is a $3.2 million increase in the budget,” Mehlhorn said. “There is $2.5 million being passed on to taxpayers.
“The reason,” he explained, “Salaries amount for over $1 million in increases and there was an over $1 million increase in state pensions because of the fact that pensions have been phased in over five years and this is the fifth of the five years.”
According to Mehlhorn, the city of Long Branch is worth $5 billion, which is what the city was worth last year.
“The ratables have not increased,” Mehlhorn said. “The ratables are almost identical to last year’s. The value of the town is not increasing.”
He explained that the city also experienced a $500,000 cut in state aid, which amounts to 1 cent of the tax rate increase.
Bill McLaughlin of Ocean Avenue pointed out that the debt service is up $2.8 million, bringing the city’s debt service total to $46 million.
“Stop playing with the budget this year so you can lower the taxes next year in an election year,” McLaughlin said.
Councilman Michael DeStefano said, “The cost to run the city goes up. It is a matter of redistribution.”
Diana Multaire, who lives in one of the city’s redevelopment zones, said the city’s hike in taxes is hurting residents who are living under the threat of redevelopment.
“You have properties in a redevelopment zone where the taxes keep going up,” said Multaire, of North Bath Avenue in the Beachfront South redevelopment zone. “The taxes here are $27,000, $28,000.
“You are in a redevelopment zone,” she said, adding, “You are paralyzed even to sell your house if you can’t afford the taxes.
“Now, these are high taxes, and you are raising the taxes again,” Multaire said. “You have put these property owners in such a bind.”
Unger, before voting no on the spending plan, said that he recommends the city enact a hiring freeze.
“We need to combine some of the administrative support systems,” Unger said. “We need to encourage people who are eligible for retirement to retire.”
Councilman Anthony Giordano said, before voting yes on the budget, that the budget increases are a reflection of today’s economy.
“We do go through the budget,” Giordano said. “I know there were a lot of cuts made to programs. Throughout the course of the year, we need to continue to look to ways to trim costs.
“I think the services we deliver are appropriate,” he said, adding,” It is not a one-night decision.”
DeStefano added, “I live here as you do and I pay taxes as you do.
“I don’t want to pay taxes either. I don’t want to pay increases in gas prices.
“We need to be responsible,” he said, adding, “We need to fund the city at the level we are used to.”