EDISON — The Township Council has introduced a $123 million budget for 2010 that raises taxes by approximately $70 on the average home.
Mayor Antonia Ricigliano said a tax increase is inevitable to absorb a 17.6 percent cut in state aid. The township will receive $16,065,782 in state aid, down $3,431,507 from last year.
The preliminary budget, which does not call for any layoffs or furloughs, would raise the tax rate by 4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, amounting to $70 on a home assessed at the township average of $176,400.
The Township Council will hold a public hearing on the spending plan at 7 p.m. May 26.
Council members Wayne Mascola, Dr. Sudhanshu Prasad and Melissa Perilstein sent a letter to the mayor last week advocating for “no municipal tax increase for the calendar year 2010” and mentioning use of the township’s $14 million surplus to help close the budget gap.
“We need to recognize the plight of our residents in a devastated economy, with high unemployment and a significant contraction of the private sector which has resonated throughout our local economy,” the council members wrote.
The three made note of the significant increase in the number of tax appeals that have resulted in an overall reduction of the township’s tax ratable base.
“The personnel costs, namely the compensation and benefits, for the large majority of those employed by the township has created a structural deficit,” the letter said. “It is time for our budgeting philosophy and practice to mirror this new economic environment and not follow the usual practice of budgeting up to the 4 percent cap.”
The Township Council tabled an ordinance that would allow it to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and establish a cap bank for the calendar year 2010.
The council members said the mayor and her administration should take the opportunity to correct the structural deficit, since the contracts with four major unions that represent public safety employees are all up for negotiation. They also strongly suggested that the administration not ratify any of the open contracts until the binding arbitration reforms have been implemented at the state level to ensure a more fair and equitable process for the township in its ability to negotiate.
Ricigliano said she has informed the department heads, who are nonunion, that there will be no salary increases for next year. She said officials are hoping to get the unions to agree to do the same.
Anthony Russomanno, special assistant to the mayor, sent a letter to the mayor on April 15 stating that he would forgo his township pension and six compensated holidays “until there is a feeling of financial stability and a sense of economic recovery.”
“It has to start from the top, and we have to work together for the common good … tough decisions will have to be made, and this will only be for a temporary basis,” he said. “I earn $65,000 [annually], and if the 700 to 800 employees follow my lead, this would save the township a considerable amount of money.”
Russomanno said in his letter that “it is my hope that other township employees will follow suit and consider doing the same, both union employees as well as non-union employees.”