By Joanne Degnan, Staff Writer
PLUMSTED In order to avert police layoffs, the Township Committee last week authorized an April 27 referendum seeking voter permission to exceed the 2 percent tax levy cap in the proposed $3.1 million municipal budget.
The referendum question asks voters to increase the allowable tax levy the total amount raised by taxation by $97,311. This represents a 6.9 percent increase over the amount allowed by law, which means voter approval is required.
The owner of a Plumsted home assessed at the townshipwide average of $378,400 now pays $416 a year in municipal taxes based on a tax rate of 11 cents per $100 in assessed value. The tax rate would rise to 12.9 cents about $72 more for the same home if the tax levy increase were to be kept at 2 percent. If voters approve exceeding the levy cap, the tax rate would increase to 13.8 cents, which works out to an additional $34 per year for a total municipal tax bill of $522.
Mayor Ron Dancer said overall spending is actually down $177,566 in the proposed 2011 municipal budget, but a number of factors have come together to create a “perfect financial storm” that necessitates a tax increase.
Township ratables have declined $10 million from 2010, and two severe winter storms have required costly cleanup and road repairs that also have severely impacted the budget, Mayor Dancer said. In addition, state aid to Plumsted has declined $675,000 since 2007, forcing the township to spend down its surplus to balance the last four budgets without any municipal tax increases, he said.
Mayor Dancer said the $97,311 requested by the cap waiver is “exclusively for the Police Department” to cover a $107,800 contractually obligated increase in the officers’ salaries in 2011. The police are working under an expired contract and state law requires that while a new contract is being negotiated, the longevity increments, also known as “steps,” contained in the expired contract must be paid to officers who qualify for salary adjustments based on their length of service.
The voters’ decision on the cap waiver is final. If it is rejected, the tax increase will be reduced by an average $34 to an average $72 and the Township Committee will have no choice but to cut the Police Department, the mayor said.
Mayor Dancer said the township has reduced spending by $500,000 since 1998, when the budget was $3.6 million. While the number of township police officers has increased from six to 13 during that time period, the rest of the township workforce has decreased from 17 full-time employees to seven.
”With 10 less employees, the seven workers we have are doing a lot more with a lot less,” Mayor Dancer said Friday. The non-union employees also have had to take pay cuts and furloughs, he said.
In addition, the township business administrator has been laid off, effective April 1, Mayor Dancer said. The only salary budgeted for that position in 2011 was for the first three months of the year, he said.
”There will not be any layoffs in the Municipal Clerk’s Office with this additional administrative workload,” Mayor Dancer said.
The increase in spending for the Police Department over the past decade is a reflection of the township’s commitment to public safety, the mayor said. However, if the cap waiver is rejected, the Township Committee will be forced to make cuts to the police account, just as it has already done elsewhere, he said.
The township also has tried to economize with 39 different shared services agreements with other municipalities.
Even if voters approve the cap waiver, their municipal taxes will still be the lowest of any community in Ocean County, Mayor Dancer said. The average Ocean County resident pays $1,592 in municipal property taxes, which is $1,070 more than what the average Plumsted resident would pay if the cap waiver passes.
Municipal taxes represent about 8 percent of a Plumsted resident’s total property tax bill. If the waiver should be approved, the total annual property tax bill would be $6,020. The total represents $3,840 in school taxes (a $44 increase); $1,181 in county taxes (a $35 increase); $522 in municipal taxes (a $106 increase); $401 in fire taxes (a $23 increase); and $76 in open space taxes (no increase).
The $6,020 total property tax bill would be $5,986 ($34 less) if the cap waiver referendum should be rejected, Mayor Dancer said.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on April 27. Residents vote at the same polling places as they do for the school budget election occurring the same day.
The next public hearing on the Plumsted municipal budget is May 4. The deadline for submitting municipal budgets to the state is May 20.

