Some Sayreville officials are hoping to restore $100,000 in cuts that were ordered to capital expenditures during budget hearings this summer.
A motion to restore the funding for infrastructure improvements was introduced and tabled during an Aug. 13 Borough Council meeting.
Councilman Nicholas Perrette proposed to restore the funds through a slight tax increase, noting that he believes the impact will be so insignificant on Sayreville homeowners that it is not worth jeopardizing road repairs and projects that need to be made. Restoring the $100,000 would bring this year’s municipal tax increase taxes up by another $5.75 per year on the average home.
This, combined with the $56 increase in the currently proposed 2012 municipal budget, would have the owner of a home assessed at the borough average of $143,700 paying nearly $62 more on the municipal portion of the property tax bill. The budget, totaling $52.1 million, was introduced in a 4-2 vote during the council’s July 16 meeting. “I would amend the budget and restore $100,000 back to capital expenditure,” Perrette said. “In the end, the taxpayer will be hit anyway because if we keep cutting services, then the [necessary] money will have to be borrowed on a short-term basis and repaid. This will go back against the town. We may save upfront, but it’s ludicrous [in the long run].”
Residents at the council meeting vocalized their concern that cuts could negatively affect ongoing road repair projects, specifically anti-flooding measurements on William Street, where standing water and other flood-related problems have been a significant issue.
“We have $70,000 already spent towards the project of stopping floods,” resident Frank Mazzaroni told the council. “We are scared that the budget cut for this small amount of money will cut this project.”
Councilman William J. Henry confirmed that there will be enough money — with or without the capital expenditure restoration — to continue the William Street project, but that other road repair projects will be affected by the shortage of funds.
“There’s capital improvement money in the budget as of now,” Henry said. “It has to be allocated. The council will decide on the projects [for which the money will be used]. When we discuss the reduction, most of it is coming out of the roads, but money left in there will go forward with the William Street project.”
Projects affected by the capital expenditure cut have not been specified because those initiatives are not selected by the council, but by a separate building committee, according to Mayor Kennedy O’Brien.
O’Brien proposed to table the motion to restore the funds until the projects that would be cut without the capital expenditure funds are identified and made public.
“We’ll give it a serious look, but we can’t right now,” O’Brien said. “We should table this budget amendment and deal with which projects will get cut, and then it should be presented in a manner so that the people of Sayreville will know where we’re cutting.”
“In years like this where the budget is running very late, chances are a lot of these capital projects are not going to be done until 2013 because of the lengthy process they have to go through,” O’Brien added.
Councilwoman Mary Novak vocalized support of the restoration of the capital expenditure, noting that Sayreville residents are frustrated that necessary road repairs and repaving are not getting done.
“Everyday, two or three times a day, I get a request from residents about…projects that make their lives a little better,” Novak said. “The majority [of residents] realize that the cost of everything is going up, and we cannot provide services without money. Taxes inevitably have to go up unless you don’t want projects to be done.”
The council has scheduled a workshop for Aug. 23 at 6:30 p.m. in the Borough Hall, 167 Main St. to discuss this proposed amendment.
Contact Stella Morrison at smorrison@gmnews.com.