ROBBINSVILLE: Budget with municipal tax increase adopted

Average homeowner’s tax bill to rise $54

By Jessica Noll, Special Writer
   ROBBINSVILLE — The Township Council voted 3-2 last week to adopt a $22.35 million municipal budget that will mean a tax increase of $54 a year for a home assessed at the township average.
   Council President Christine Ciaccio, Ron Witt and Vince Calcagno voted yes. Council members Rich Levesque and Sheree McGowan voted no.
   The municipal tax rate under the 2012 budget will be 54.2 cents per $100 in assessed valuation, a 1.4-cent increase. For a home assessed at the township average of $385,000, this means an annual municipal tax of $2,086 a year.
   Municipal taxes comprise only 20 percent of a resident’s total annual property tax bill, which also includes school, county and open space taxes.
   Public comment at the May 24 budget hearing was supposed to be restricted to the budget amendment introduced April 12, which cut $60,000 from the Public Works account. However, some residents used their right to speak during other portions of the Township Council meeting to criticize the tax increase as well as salaries paid to top municipal officials.
   Longtime township resident Rich Cruser, of Windsor-Edinburg Road, told the council that when he built his house in 1966, his total property tax bill was about $2,000. Today, his total property taxes are more than $10,000 a year, he said.
   ”That’s like $200 a week to live in my own house,” Mr. Cruser complained. “I’ve seen the salaries escalate in this town to beyond what they should be.”
   Mr. Cruser, a regular attendee at council meetings, said he thought Township Council members (who receive $4,800 a year) are “underpaid” for all the work they do, but said some high-level employees in the administration were overpaid. When he singled out Township Engineer and Economic Development Director Tim McGough, whose 2012 salary will be $159,681 a year, Mr. Cruser was told he could not discuss employees by name if they were not present to defend themselves.
   The budget amendment cut $60,000 from Public Works and transferred $40,000 to the salary account for police, whose union reportedly is close to settling a new contract with the township. The roughly $20,000 net savings produced by the budget amendment is earmarked for tax relief, which works out to a savings of $4 a year for the average assessed home. Both Ms. McGowan and Mr. Levesque voted no on the amendment.
   The vote on the budget itself came next. Councilwoman McGowan asked if there would be a later opportunity for the council to “challenge some of the salary line items” after the budget is adopted. Township Attorney Mark Roselli told her no. Ms. McGowan then voted against the budget.
   Afterward, Ms. McGowan said she voted no because she wanted more details about the budget amendment.
   ”I’m not disputing that the (police) overtime is underfunded,” Ms. McGowan said. “I wanted to see once the contracts were negotiated whether there was money available afterward. I would much rather see the money go for tax relief.”

   Joanne Degnan contributed to this story.