By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
It was standing room only Monday night as Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun explained the intricacies of the municipal budget and why township officials are asking for voter approval to raise the municipal tax rate an additional 9 cents beyond the 5-cent increase in the proposed 2012 spending plan.
The forum, which was sponsored by the Lawrence chapter of the League of Women Voters, was held at the Lawrence Branch of the Mercer County Library System. Township voters will be asked to act on the request for the 9-cent municipal tax property tax rate increase April 17, in conjunction with the annual school board election.
The questions posed to Mr. Krawczun by some of the 60 audience members ranged from the possibility of increasing shared services to seeking greater contributions from nonprofit groups and schools such as The Lawrenceville School and Rider University.
Mr. Krawczun said “everyone is cognizant” of the financial issues. He said Township Council and the administration take the problem seriously, adding “we realize property taxes are high.”
”We live here. We are participants. We do not do this from afar,” he said.
The key issue driving the 9-cent increase that is being requested in addition to the 5-cent tax rate increase in the proposed $42.3 million budget for 2012 is the need to preserve the surplus fund. The goal is to ensure that the surplus fund is not wiped out and that it will be available to be used for future budgets or unexpected expenses.
If voters reject the 9-cent increase, Mr. Krawczun said, the township would drop municipal garbage collection and disposal as a service included in the tax bill. It would save about $2.8 million. In its place, the township would bill residents for garbage collection and disposal at a cost of about $28 per month, or $336 annually.
The budget surplus is one of several sources of revenue in the municipal budget, and it is used to offset property tax rate increases. Until recently township officials were able to regenerate close to the amount of budget surplus money that was used, making it available for the next year’s budget.
Since 2008, township officials have been unable to replace the same amount of budget surplus money that had been used as a revenue source. It has reached the point that if the township uses $4.8 million of its $5 million surplus fund as a revenue source for the 2012 budget, it would be left with $150,000 in surplus funds.
But if voters approve the additional 9-cent property tax rate increase, that increase would generate $2.2 million. This would allow township officials to use less surplus funds in the 2012 budget. It would preserve about half of the current surplus fund and make it available for the 2013 budget.
While surplus funds have accounted for about 13 to 15 percent of budget revenues since 2007, about half of the entire revenue for the budget comes from property taxes. But in the last four years, the township has lost $167 million in ratables because of successful tax appeals (a reduction in the value of the property for tax purposes).
The decline in ratables, combined with the loss of state aid from $5.5 million in 2007 to $3.9 million in 2010 and 2011 has resulted in a steady increase in the municipal property tax rate, Mr. Krawczun told the audience.
Turning to the spending side of the budget, he said there has been “incremental growth” in spending. Since 2008, the budget appropriations have increased from $39.7 million to the proposed $42.3 million for 2012.
Mr. Krawczun also outlined the steps that have taken to rein in spending. The number of employees has declined from 213 in 2007 to 197 in 2011. None of the employees received a pay increase in 2010.
User fees have been increased, including fees charged by the Recreation Department. Electricity and phone systems have been bid out. Lawn care has been farmed out to a private company, and the Department of Public Works employees work across division lines, he said. The employees who work in the Parks Division help out with leaf collection and snow removal, for example.
Lawrence Township also has shared services agreements with other towns to keep down costs, he said. The township Health Department has an agreement with its counterpart in Hamilton Township to deal with sexually transmitted diseases, and the Princeton Borough and Princeton Township public works departments have worked hand in hand with Lawrence’s DPW.
When a resident suggested sharing more services, such as the fire inspectors, the tax collector and the animal control officer, Mr. Krawczun replied that the township has explored some of those proposals. It is not feasible to have one animal control officer care for Lawrence and West Windsor townships five days a week, he said, adding that the cost reduction would have been minimal.
Mr. Krawczun cautioned the residents not to be misled by politicians who talk about shared services as a solution to budget and spending issues. Shared services are not a fix, but a tool, the manager said.
Another resident said his municipal property taxes have increased by 104 percent since 1998, and that he is faced with a $352 increase plus a $75 increase in school district property taxes and another $70 in sewer charges. He may have to curtail his spending, he said.
And when another resident asked Mr. Krawczun for an assurance that the municipal property tax rate would not increase once the economy recovers, he replied that he has the “good job and bad job of being the gatekeeper.”
”I take the job personally,” he said, adding that he lives in Lawrence and his municipal property tax bill will increase. He pointed to his 30 years in municipal government and said he would “leave no stone unturned” in an effort to provide the best possible services at the best possible cost.
Mr. Krawczun was asked about seeking more money from The Lawrenceville School and Rider University, which are tax-exempt. The resident asked Mr. Krawczun what the township is doing to get greater contributions from them.
The manager replied that Township Council prepared a resolution in 2010 that would have removed the tax-exempt status of on-campus housing for school staff. The resolution was sent to the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, which supported it and was prepared to lobby for it, but no action has been taken on it by the state Legislature.
”We can only do so much. We need your help,” Mr. Krawczun said. The resolution will be put on the township’s website and residents can write to state lawmakers in support of it, he said. It was sent to lawmakers upon its adoption in 2010.

