By Doug Carman, Staff Writer
HIGHTSTOWN Though Hightstown’s taxpayers may see no change in their municipal tax bills this year, the borough’s parks may feel a squeeze.
According to a summary sheet provided by Borough Administrator Herbert Massa at Monday’s council meeting, the borough’s proposed $6.27 million budget for 2011 includes only $68,350 to be allocated for its parks. That’s down $35,350 from last year’s $103,700 budget.
The introduction of the overall budget, which is slightly smaller than last year’s $6.31 million spending plan, was approved unanimously by the Borough Council Monday evening. Mayor Steve Kirson said Thursday that the budget should be made available on the borough’s Web page within a few days, while the council will determine a schedule of public budget workshops.
The proposed budget calls for the municipal tax rate to remain at 87.7 cents per $100 of assessed property value, or about $2,340 for the owner of a home assessed at the borough average of $266,800. In 2010, the tax rate shot up 14.1 cents to its current level, which amounted to a tax increase of about $380 for the average household.
Mayor Kirson said the entire reduction in the parks and recreation portion of the budget involved park maintenance, where the funding was slashed from $80,000 to about $44,000. He said he could not tell from the documentation what specifically was being cut, and would not be able to determine that before the budget workshops began.
Mr. Massa was out of his office after Monday’s council meeting and could not be reached for comment. Messages left for borough Chief Financial Officer George Lang were not returned.

