JACKSON — The Township Council has unanimously introduced a $38.2 million municipal budget for the 2012 fiscal year. The budget was introduced on April 10.
Apublic hearing on the budget has been scheduled for May 8. The council may vote to adopt the budget following the public hearing.
The budget as introduced is a bit lower than the initial $38.4 million budget that was outlined by Jackson Mayor Michael Reina on March 13.
“In light of the continued economic conditions across the country, this year’s budget preparation has again been extremely challenging,” Reina said. “We are in better shape than last year.”
The 2012 budget will rely on the collection of $28.3 million in local property taxes. In 2011, the tax levy to support the budget was $27.8 million.
The mayor said the budget contains no exclusions outside the tax levy cap, and he said there is no need for residents to vote on a cap waiver, because the tax levy adheres to state limits.
If the budget is approved as it stands, the municipal tax rate in Jackson will increase from 41.2 cents to 42.1 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. At that tax rate, the owner of a home assessed at the township average of $329,214 will pay $1,386 in municipal taxes in 2012, which is an increase of $30 from 2011.
The total tax rate for the year is expected to be $2.03 per $100 of assessed valuation, including property taxes paid to the municipality, to the Jackson School District, to Ocean County and to a local fire district.
With a tax rate of $2.03 (averaged to account for slight differences in Jackson’s fire district tax rates), the owner of a home assessed at the township average of $329,214 will pay a total of about $6,697 in property taxes in 2012, a $32 increase from 2011.
“The municipal tax portion, which is the only portion … that the mayor and council are directly responsible for, is estimated at 20 percent of the total property taxes,” Reina said.
As far as the municipal budget goes, the police department accounts for 35.2 percent ($13.45 million) of the spending plan, while liability/group insurance (13.5 percent; $5.16 million) and the Department of Public Works (11.9 percent; $4.55 million) follow as the top three biggest allocations.
Earlier this year the police department promoted 10 officers. The budget also provides for the purchase of several new police cruisers to replace part of the department’s aging fleet, according to municipal officials.
According to Business Administrator Jose Torres, the 2011 budget was supported by $10.9 million in township revenues. The 2012 budget projects $9.9 million in township revenues. The 2011 budget used $2.4 million from Jackson’s surplus funds (savings). The 2012 budget uses $1.9 million in surplus funds.
According to Reina, about two-thirds of Jackson’s operating expenses cover salaries and benefits. Salaries and benefits increased by about $318,000 from 2011.
Other operating expenses saw a decrease of about $700,000. According to officials, that reduction came as a result of a number of moves to reduce the need for outside contracts and some municipal services, among other cost-saving measures.
With members of council banking on a mild winter in 2012, similar to what was experienced in 2011, the supplemental vendor assistance with snow plowing, for example, saw a $100,000 reduction in its appropriation. Of that reduction, $50,000 may go to a dedicated snow removal trust fund at a later date in case of an emergency.
“We were still able to create a snow trust fund so we could squirrel away [funds] for the day we do have an emergency,” Torres said. “That way we won’t have to go back to the taxpayer for emergency funds.”
That move, however, has Citizens Budget Advisory Committee Chairman Paul Mayerowitz worried.
“If we have a hiccup of any sort, we will have a major problem,” Mayerowitz said. “I don’t believe that what we did tonight was the most fiscally responsible thing to do.”