MANALAPAN — Forced by the state to introduce a budget by April 30 or face the possibility of a monetary penalty, the Township Committee introduced a 2010 municipal budget at its meeting on April 28.
Upon introducing the budget, members of the governing body reiterated several times that the spending plan they have placed before the public is a work in progress that will likely undergo significant changes prior to a scheduled June 9 public hearing.
Committeeman Ryan Green said “there is a great potential for change (in the budget) prior to its adoption. I hope we are able to produce a budget with no tax increase.”
Committeewoman Michelle Roth said the budget “will likely see dramatic changes prior to its adoption.”
Mayor Andrew Lucas said, “This (budget being introduced) is not the final municipal budget. We will be making amendments to this budget” prior to the June 9 public hearing.
Officials said the township was instructed by the state to introduce a budget by April 30 or forfeit another 5 percent of its state aid.
Manalapan’s state aid has been reduced from $4.8 million in 2009 to $3.8 million in 2010, according to Chief Financial Officer Patricia Addario.
The budget was introduced with a 5-0 vote by Green, Roth, Lucas, Committeeman Don Holland and Deputy Mayor Susan Cohen.
Before voting to introduce the budget, Cohen asked Lucas to once again clarify for the public that the committee was voting only on the introduction of a budget and not on the approval for the spending plan.
The mayor restated that the vote was only on the introduction of the budget.
As introduced, the 2010 municipal budget totals $32,686,748, according to Addario. Manalapan’s 2009 budget totaled $31.9 million.
The 2010 budget as introduced calls for the collection of $20.2 million in local taxes to support the spending plan. The 2009 tax levy was $18.8 million, according to Addario.
Adjusting for a reassessment of property that was conducted in Manalapan last year, the budget as introduced would raise the municipal tax rate by 2.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The 2009 budget raised the municipal tax rate by 1.1 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
The amount of the municipal tax rate increase for 2010 is subject to change as the budget is amended between now and June 9, township officials said.
If the budget is adopted with a 2.5-cent increase in the municipal tax rate, the owner of a home that is assessed at the township average of $377,000 would pay $94 more in municipal taxes in the coming year than in 2009.
The owner of a home that is assessed at $100,000 would pay $25 more in municipal taxes if the increase is 2.5 cents, while the owner of a home that is assessed at $600,000 would pay $150 more in municipal taxes if the increase is 2.5 cents.
Addario said the budget as introduced includes one layoff of a municipal employee and she said that layoff has already occurred.