The Township Committee has scheduled a public hearing and adoption vote for its May 11 meeting
By John Tredrea, Staff Writer
The proposed 2009 Hopewell Township budget will bring no municipal tax rate increase if the spending plan is adopted as introduced Monday.
The Township Committee has scheduled a public hearing and adoption vote for its May 11 meeting.
Under the spending plan now on the table, the municipal tax rate for 2009 would be 27 cents per $100 of assessed property value, same as last year. This means a resident with a house assessed at the township average of $545,000 would pay $1,471 in 2009, the same as last year.
The proposed overall township tax levy of $12.1 million is down about $177,000 from last year, Elaine Cruikshank Borges, township chief financial officer, said.
The proposed total budget for 2009 is $19.8 million, up $189,000 over 2008.
Miscellaneous one-time sources of revenue helped keep the budget flat enough to avoid the need for any tax increase, Ms. Borges said.
She said expenses for all township departments are up a combined $32,000 in the proposed budget.
Ms. Borges noted that the proposed budget only pertains to the municipal tax portion of the property tax bill. School, county, fire district and open space tax items are separate.

