By Doug Carman, Staff Writer
EAST WINDSOR Mayor Janice Mironov modified the proposed township tax rate increase at Tuesday’s council meeting, dropping it 1 cent to 1.49 cents per $100 of assessed property value.
The mayor said the proposed tax rate increase was nearly halved after the Township Council determined that it could squeeze some of the needed money from other revenue sources.
”In reviewing revenues in our projections, we felt that we could responsibly increase amount of revenues supporting the 2011 budget so that we can use that to offset the taxes, and that’s where the primary changes occurred,” Mayor Mironov said. “We could responsibly utilize additional revenues to support the budget offsetting the tax burden on our residents.”
For the owner of a home assessed at the township average of $264,000, the proposed tax rate hike from 38.3 cents per $100 of assessed property value to 39.79 cents would amount to about a $39 increase in the municipal portion of the property tax bill. That homeowner’s municipal tax bill would increase from about $1,011 to about $1,050 if the budget is approved as is.
The mayor told the Herald that the tax levy increase in the preliminary budget was $630,000 below the 2-percent cap created by the state. Theoretically, the tax rate could have been increased another 2.25 cents with the current cap, she added.
Though the preliminary budget was discussed publicly, Mayor Mironov said Tuesday evening that copies of the spending plan would become available once it’s introduced March 22.
Mayor Mironov told the Herald that the township’s ratable base declined by $14 million in value, and combined with a decline in construction permits, license fees, court fees and other revenue sources, it has stressed the township financially. The pension payments alone for the township ballooned $530,000 equivalent to 2 cents of the proposed 39.79-cent tax rate to $1.93 million from last year. Pension increases are exempt from the tax levy cap.
Prior to Saturday’s township budget meeting, the preliminary budget accounted for a “maintenance budget” of about $20.2 million, which called for no new programs or change in the number of employees working for the township, according to Mayor Mironov. The figure is a 2-percent increase from the 2010 budget, she said.

