UPPER FREEHOLD: Municipal budget hearing set

By Joanne Degnan, Staff Writer
   UPPER FREEHOLD — The Township Committee will hold a public hearing tonight (Thursday) on its proposed $5 million budget for 2011 that, if approved, would mean an average $8 annual increase in municipal taxes.
   The proposed $5,080,500 budget is 2 percent less than last year’s spending plan of $5,184,000. The tax levy, which is the total amount raised by taxation to support the budget, is $1.91 million, a $38,293 increase over last year.
   The proposed budget meets the requirements of the state’s new 2 percent cap law that limits how much the tax levy can increase from one year to the next.
   The total value of all property in Upper Freehold declined 9 percent in 2011 to $1.17 million. The decline in ratables accounts for 1.5 cents of the total 1.8-cent increase in the tax rate because when property values decline the tax rate must rise just to bring in the same amount of revenue as the prior budget year.
   The proposed tax rate for 2011 is 16.6 cents per $100 in assessed valuation.
   A homeowner with a property assessed at the new 2011 township average of $495,000 would pay $821.70 in municipal property taxes under the proposed budget. Last year, that same average home was assessed at $550,000 and paid $814 in taxes — a difference of $7.70.
   Township Administrator and CFO Dianne Kelly said April 7 the budget proposes no additional layoffs this year, unlike last year when the township lost 13 percent of its workforce. Even without additional layoffs, salaries accounts are projected to be 6 percent lower in 2011 than last year due to attrition, she said.
   ”We have had some retirements as well as some resignations,” Ms. Kelly said. “At this point no more layoffs are planned.”
   The public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Building.