By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The Township Council is forging ahead with plans to introduce the proposed 2011 municipal budget, which carries a 6-cent increase in the municipal property tax rate, on Tuesday night.
The council meeting begins at 7 p.m. and will be held in council chambers in the Municipal Building. A public hearing and final action on the proposed budget tentatively is set for the council’s June 7 meeting.
The council completed its review of the proposed $42.1 million budget at its April 21 meeting. As it stands, the budget calls for an increase in the municipal property tax rate from 78 cents per $100 of assessed value to 84 cents.
The 6-cent tax rate hike translates into an increase of $96 in the municipal tax bill on a house assessed at the township average of $161,292 — from $1,258 in municipal property taxes in 2010 to $1,354.
Although the 2011 proposed budget is $800,000 more than the current budget, a decline in tax ratables accounts for 1 cent of the 6-cent tax rate increase, Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun said. He attributed the decline in the total taxable value of township properties to property owners’ successful tax appeals last year.
About half of the budget increase is attributable to increases in salaries, health benefits and pension contributions. The remainder is due to the new red light camera fees, Mr. Krawczun said. A company has been hired to install a camera — and monitor it — at the intersection of Route 1 and Franklin Corner Road to capture images of vehicles that do not stop when the traffic light turns red. The cost will be offset by about $700,000 in anticipated fines.
Meanwhile, the council backed away from a series of scenarios presented by Mr. Krawczun last week that would have shaved 1 cent off the 6-cent property tax rate increase. Mayor Greg Puliti had asked the manager earlier this month to prepare a list of scenarios to cut $256,000 in spending — the equivalent of 1 penny.
If the council wants to reduce the tax rate increase to 5 cents, it would require a series of layoffs across several departments, including the Recreation Department, the Police Department, the Municipal Court and the Department of Public Works, according to the scenario laid out by Mr. Krawczun.
The Recreation Department would be virtually eliminated, Mr. Krawczun said, if the layoffs were implemented. The move also would eliminate all of the programs, although some could be reinstated. Some programs support themselves through fees, but others do not.
Laying off a Department of Public Works employee would have an impact on snow removal and brush and leaf collection as well as street repairs, Mr. Krawczun told the council. And eliminating a civilian position in the Police Department would put an increased burden on the uniformed officers, he said.
”I’m running out of options,” Mr. Krawczun said.
It would take a combination of recommendations to reach the goal of cutting the tax rate increase by a penny, he added.
A grim-looking Mayor Puliti acknowledged implementing some of the recommendations would mean eliminating “major services” township residents rely on.
”Given the last couple of budgets we have been through, we are pretty much down to the bone,” Mayor Puliti said. “This basically shows us we would be altering immensely the way we do business, to the worse.”
Councilman Michael Powers agreed and said the proposals outlined by Mr. Krawczun would result in a “dramatic change” in services township residents have come to expect, such as snow removal and leaf collection.
Councilwoman Pam Mount said she was concerned about the Recreation Department, which touches virtually every family in Lawrence. Township residents may not go to Municipal Court or use other services, but the Recreation Department brings people together and builds a sense of community, she said.
Mr. Powers emphasized the importance of the Recreation Department, noting it would seem to be “counter-intuitive” to eliminate that department, given the concern about childhood obesity and the need to encourage children to exercise.
Councilman Bob Bostock said he had “no stomach” for layoffs. For the past several years, the council has asked Mr. Krawczun to make budget cuts, and each year he has succeeded in finding reductions, but this year, “we have cut to the bone,” Mr. Bostock said.
Looking to the future, Mr. Bostock said, it is time to start thinking about how to increase the township’s ratables base. It is also time to start thinking about cost-containment in terms of benefits, although union contract negotiations are several years away, he said.
Mayor Puliti agreed township officials need to start thinking about how to increase revenues, and one of the first steps is to seek the full amount of state aid due Lawrence Township. The township should have received $6.9 million for 2011, but it is only getting $3.9 million.

