SOUTH BRUNSWICK: Council OKs tax hike

By Davy James, Staff Writer
   When municipal tax bills go out in September, South Brunswick residents can expect to see an approximately $96 increase after the Township Council adopted the municipal budget with a 5-cent tax rate increase Tuesday evening.
   The $47.03 million spending plan, reduced from last year’s $48 million budget, was adopted unanimously following a public hearing where no residents spoke against the new spending plan.
   The 5-cent increase raises the tax rate to 72-cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a home assessed at the township average of $194,400 can expect to pay about $1,408 in municipal taxes, a $96 increase.
   ”All in all, did we get what we wanted?” said Councilman Joseph Camarota. “No. Our goal was to get as close to a zero-cent increase as possible while still maintaining services. We made hard cuts and did some cutting back on our operating expenses. The bottom line is we did what we have to do to serve the community. We talked to people about what services they want and what they want cut and we tried to encapsulate everyone’s thoughts.”
   The budget was originally introduced in late March with an 8-cent tax increase, but council members called the increase untenable and asked Township Manager Matthew Watkins and Chief Financial Officer Joseph Monzo to bring back a budget with no more than a 5-cent increase.
   Mr. Watkins said administration was able to bring the budget down to a 5-cent increase by trimming operating expenses. The township also took advantage of a bill signed on Aug. 4 by Gov. Chris Christie that permits municipalities to pay off over five years special payment of contractually required severance liabilities resulting from retirement and layoffs of township employees.
   The bill allowed South Brunswick to save $525,000, which the township will pay off over a five-year period with a payment of $105,000 per year until 2015.
   The increased tax rate was driven by rising pension and insurance costs, which increased by $2.3 million this year. South Brunswick was also hit with $1.1 million reduction in state aid. The township received about $5.2 million in aid this year.
   A drop in ratables and a lack of revenue from new construction projects also led to the increased tax rate. The township’s total assessed value shrank between February 2009 and February 2010 by $60.9 million to $3.89 billion, a 1.5 percent reduction.
   Council members credited the hard work of municipal employees and thanked the township workforce for their sacrifices over the last year, which included 12 furlough days that saved the township $430,000.
   ”This budget was accomplished in these hard economic times with the cooperation of the South Brunswick Municipal employees and the township administration,” said Councilman John O’Sullivan. “The budget is tight and now we have to start working on the budget for next year.”
   Mr. O’Sullivan also asked that a citizen’s budget review committee be formed. He said the committee could be comprised of accountants and financial professionals, who could review current spending and assist the administration and council in bringing a more effective budget for next year.
   Mayor Frank Gambatese thanked Mr. Watkins, Mr. Monzo and the various township department managers for their work in getting the budget down to a 5-cent tax rate increase.
   Deputy Mayor Chris Killmurray said the effort to get the tax increase down to 5 cents involved a shared commitment by the administration, council and township managers. He said of the 120 line items in the budget, 81 line items were decreased.
   ”To get under a 5-cent increase, we would’ve had to cut our core services,” he said. We made some difficult decisions up here. As much as we would’ve liked to get down one more tax point, we felt it would’ve damaged the core services in the town.”