EAST WINDSOR: Budget calls for 1.5-cent tax rate hike

By Amy Batista, Special Writer
   EAST WINDSOR — The Township Council introduced its 2013 municipal budget at $20.8 million Tuesday, which calls for a 1.5-cent increase in the municipal tax rate.
   ”The budget represents a very fiscally conservative responsible budget document that maintains a high level of service and well serves our residents,” said Mayor Janice Mironov at the council meeting.
   She added, “The budget maintains all existing services and service levels. It adds no new positions.”
   The tax rate for 2013 would be 43.06 cents per $100 of assessed value. In 2012, the tax rate was 41.5 cents per $100 of assessed value.
   The increase would hike taxes for the average homeowner by $2 per month, officials said. The average township household, with homes assessed at $260,750, would see a municipal tax bill of about $1,124, an increase of $24 from 2012.
   Mayor Mironov called it “a modest increase.”
   The budget as presented is “well under” the mandated state 2 percent tax levy increase, Mayor Mironov said.
   ”If the town were to go to the limits of where we are legally entitled to under the tax levy calculations, the tax rate could go up an additional 4 cents beyond what we are proposing,” Mayor Mironov said.
   The 2013 budget is proposed at $20,811,435. A public hearing on the spending plan is set for April 16.
   Mayor Mironov took a few minutes to discuss the reasons for the increase in the budget.
   ”There has been valuation decrease in the township ratable base of over $45 million,” Mayor Mironov said. “Over half of the tax increase is attributable to this factor.”
   The budget also included increases in group medical insurance and pensions, which are “out of the control of council,” she said.
   Medical insurance increased by $230,800. The town participates in the State Health Benefits program, which increased by 9.2 percent, according to Mayor Mironov.
   ”The township reserve for uncollected taxes — this is an expenditure within the budget that the town is required to provide pursuant to the state mandate and pursuant of a state formula,” Mayor Mironov said. “It is based on the prior year’s tax collection rate, which was impacted by a very large number of tax appeals, resulting in refunds and tax credits.”
   According to Mayor Mironov, the municipal component of the property tax bill is “far and away the smallest part” of the tax bill.
   ”East Windsor is under 15 percent, and the remaining part of the bill goes to the schools and the county,” Mayor Mironov said.
   She added, “The municipal component in the property tax bill in East Windsor is among the lowest, equalized rates in Mercer County and throughout the region. It remains so.”
   In a recent state study, school and county tax rates were just below the state level, and the municipal component was at 50 percent of the state average, according to Mayor Mironov.
   She also talked about the ongoing issue of the energy tax receipts.
   ”The state continues to withhold from its municipal governments and divert for use in the state budget money that is for local property taxpayers, and if they were provided in the appropriate way that the spirit and wording of the law always intended, (the tax rate) would be significantly below” what is proposed, Mayor Mironov said.
   According to Mayor Mironov’s calculations, more than 25 percent of municipal taxes is a result of the state diverting that money from local property taxpayers to support spending in the state budget.
   ”We hope that situation will change,” Mayor Mironov said. “We continue to advocate for its change. It would be a way that state officials could provide immediate tax relief to overburden tax payers throughout our state.”
   In other news, the council also discussed Jersey Central Power and Light’s request for a 4.5 percent rate increase.
   Mayor Mironov recalled a resolution adopted during the Dec. 18 meeting about the company’s response to Superstorm Sandy. In some cases, municipalities across the state were without power for at least two days and, in some cases, for as long as two weeks.
   The resolution also states New Jersey’s Office of Emergency Management told utility companies to be prepared for the storm with appropriate action plans. In addition, it stated the company had no system to address priority sites such as police and fire departments.
   ”JCP&L must be required to provide substantial improvements per its communication so as to provide detailed realistic, dependable action work plans during restoration plans efforts,” Mayor Mironov said.
   According to Mayor Mironov, JCP&L must be required to create a system to identify and restore prioritized facilities such as police and fire and rescue facilities, which are important for emergency response.
   Utility operations need to be regulated to ensure a comprehensive review of its infrastructure to determine cost-effective improvements and maintenance measurements that can be implemented to better safeguard utility service from disruption during weather impacts, she said. And compliance mechanisms need to be in place.
   ”I think we need to see more proactive steps from Trenton and the BPU (Board of Public Utilities),” Mayor Mironov said. “In the course of the evaluation of their request, all of these items need to be addressed.”
   The council agreed to send out communications to New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and local legislators.
   ”I think JCP&L has to show some creditability and responsibility before anything like that can go through,” Councilman Marc Lippman said. “I’m 100 percent in favor of sending out a letter.”
   Councilman Perry Shapiro added, “If they don’t start improving their structure and the way they respond to storms and with better equipment to withstand, it can just get really horrible.”
   He said weather is expected to get worse in the future.
   The next council meeting will be April 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the East Windsor Municipal Building, 16 Lanning Blvd.