Average tax increase $72
By Joanne Degnan
PLUMSTED The Plumsted Township Committee on Saturday voted to adopt a $3 million budget for 2011 that spends $255,000 less than last year, but will still cost the average homeowner about $72 more a year in municipal taxes.
Town officials blame the situation on a $10 million decline in the municipal ratable base, the loss of $678,000 in state aid since 2007, two costly winter storms, and the use of the budget surplus in prior years to stabilize the tax rate.
The 2011 budget increases the municipal tax rate from 11 cents per $100 in assessed value to 12.9 cents. A resident whose home is assessed at the township average of $378,400 will pay $488 in municipal taxes this year, an increase of $72.
”This is a balanced budget that now complies with the 2 percent tax cap levy law,” Mayor Ron Dancer said prior to the budget vote.
The 2011 budget totals $3,039,683 and is $255,000 less than the 2010 municipal spending plan, Mayor Dancer said.
Before adopting the new budget, the Township Committee had to approve an amendment that reduced the $1,402,891 tax levy the total amount raised by taxation by $457. The reduction was required by the state Division of Local Government Services, which reviews all municipal budgets prior to their adoption.
”They have completed their review of the budget and they found that in the calculation for the reserve for uncollected taxes there should be a revision that would diminish the amount of taxes that need to be raised,” Mayor Dancer said.
The $457 reduction means the 2011 tax levy is now $1,402,434. The 0.0003 percent decrease in the levy has virtually no impact on property tax bills.
Saturday’s meeting marked the second time the Township Committee has had to amend the budget to adjust the tax levy. Last month it had to cut $97,311 from the budget because of the defeat of a cap waiver ballot question that sought voters’ permission to exceed the 2 percent levy cap by that same $97,311 amount.
The bulk of the cuts made on May 25 were to Police Department accounts ($65,300), which prevented the township from moving forward with a plan to make two part-time police officers full-time employees. Other township accounts absorbed the remaining $31,853 in cuts. The $91,311 in voter-mandated cuts reduced the projected municipal average tax increase from $106 to $72.
Municipal taxes comprise only 8 percent of the total property tax bill in Plumsted Township, Mayor Dancer said. School taxes represent 64 percent; county taxes are 20 percent; fire district taxes are 7 percent; and open space/farmland preservation taxes are 1 percent.
In addition to defeating the municipal cap waiver, Plumsted voters also rejected both the school and fire budgets earlier this year. Those defeated spending plans were sent to the Township Committee, which cut the proposed school tax increase by 75 percent and the fire district tax proposal by 50 percent.
As a result of the cuts made to the municipal, school and fire budgets, the overall total increase in property tax bills will be 2 percent, Mayor Dancer said.
”If you pay $5,000 (in annual property taxes) they will go up $100, if you pay $6,000 they will go up $120,” Mayor Dancer said. “Just use that 2 percent number to figure out how much of an increase there will be.”
The Township Committee also approved a resolution on Saturday authorizing the tax collector to send out estimated tax bills, instead of waiting for the Ocean County Board of Taxation to strike the official tax rate, which will delay mailing of the actual property tax bills until August.
”No one in any town will be able to get their tax bills printed until the State of New Jersey says to the 21 county boards of taxation … strike the rate,” Mayor Dancer said. The state will not give the counties authorization to do this until its own budget is adopted on June 30 and municipal aid figures are final, he said.
Therefore, the decision to send out estimated tax bills is unrelated to the fact that Plumsted adopted its budget later than usual, Mayor Dancer said.
”This is not the result of the Township Committee adopting its budget on June 18,” Mayor Dancer said. “It is the result of having to wait for the State of New Jersey to adopt its budget on June 30.”
The vote to adopt the budget was 4-0. Township Committeeman Steve Reed was absent.