LAWRENCE: Council opposes user fees legislation

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Township Council has joined the list of municipalities opposing state legislation that would require certain user fees for municipal services to be included within the 2-percent cap on the municipal tax levy.
   The council voted 3-1 to approve a resolution at its June 19 meeting that expresses its opposition to Senate Bill 1914 and its companion bill in the state Assembly. The state Senate approved the bill and the companion bill is in the Assembly, awaiting action.
   Mayor Jim Kownacki and council members Cathleen Lewis and Gregory Puliti voted for the resolution, but Councilman Michael Powers voted against it. Councilman David Maffei was absent.
   Mr. Powers said he voted against the resolution because he questioned its effectiveness. He said there is a need to find other solutions, such as reaching out to the non-profit groups in the township for voluntary contributions.
   But Ms. Lewis said she voted for the resolution because the proposed state law does not include county or school districts. It is important to level the playing field, she said, noting that some school districts charge a fee for a student to participate in a sport.
   And Mr. Puliti said he voted for the resolution — which opposes including user fees in the 2-percent cap calculation — because “there are instances where the township can provide services for a lesser fee because of the economies of scale.”
   ”If we are forced to be limited to a percentage cap that prohibits us from providing a service because of cost elements out of our control, we will have to discontinue those services,” Mr. Puliti said.
   The proposed legislation would ban municipalities from charging a user fee for traditional municipal services, which it defines as “including, but not limited to, the clearing and lighting of streets, the collection and disposal of solid waste, leaves and recyclable materials along the roads and streets, general police patrol and response, and fire response.”
   Those are services that have been funded through the municipal budget. If a user fee is established by a municipality, the cost of that fee would be counted against the 2-percent cap on increases to the municipal property tax levy.
   If a municipality could increase the municipal tax levy by $450,000, but a user fee would generate $200,000, then the amount raised by the user fee would be counted against the $450,000 increase in the tax levy — meaning the tax levy could be raised by $250,000, not $450,000.
   State Sen. Stephen Sweeney sponsored by bill, claiming that user fees are a means to circumvent the state-imposed 2-percent cap on increases to the municipal tax levy. The legislation does not address user fees for traditional county and school services, although Township Council’s resolution points out that the county and school district “have a greater impact on the local property tax bill.”
   The total tax rate for 2011 was $4.29 per $100 of assessed value. The Mercer County property tax of .95 cents made up 22 percent of a property owner’s total tax bill, and the Lawrence Township public school district’s property tax of $2.33 made up 54 percent of a property owner’s total tax bill. The municipal property tax was 84 cents, or 19 percent.
   The resolution approved by Township Council “strongly urges our state legislators to oppose legislation that would have ‘user fees’ being included within the 2-percent tax levy cap.”
   It also states that “it is at times more appropriate to fund some services by user fees, especially those services for which a recipient and a cost can be clearly and accurately calculated.”
   ”If municipalities are prohibited from charging user fees, they may be forced to discontinue the service, forcing residents to obtain the service from a private provider, often times at a higher cost than the user fee,” the resolution said.
   A copy of Township Council’s resolution has been sent to Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, Assembly members Reed Gusciora and Bonnie Watson-Coleman, state Sen. Shirley K. Turner and Gov. Chris Christie.