UPPER FREEHOLD: Proposed budget to include tax increase

If adopted, the homeowner of a residence assessed at the township average of $446,800 would pay an additional $39 in municipal taxes, up from $886 last year.

by Jane Meggitt
UPPER FREEHOLD — The Township Committee introduced its 2014 budget that, if approved, would result in a municipal tax increase for the average resident.
   The $5.08 million budget was introduced at the March 6 Township Committee. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for April 3.
   If adopted, the homeowner of a residence assessed at the township average of $446,800 would pay an additional $39 in municipal taxes, up from $886 last year.
   The budget itself represents a $11,625 increase from last year. The spending plan is set to be supported by a $2.46 million tax levy, an increase of $107,686 or 5 percent from last year.
   State aid remained flat from last year’s budget at $511,391.
   The local purpose tax rate is up 0.010 percent, from 0.197 in 2013 to 0.207 this year. The average assessment of a home in the township declined 1 percent, from $449,600 last year.
   The amount budgeted for legal costs is down 20 percent, from $83,500 last year to $67,000 in 2014, while legal costs that specifically involve for human resources is down a whopping 74 percent, from $38,000 last year to $10,000 this year.
   Whereas the largest increases in the budget are for group health insurance, up 15 percent, from $283,001 to $324,330 this year. Other insurance costs increased, from $390,501 last year to $432,830 in 2014.
   While total salaries and wages declined by 1 percent, down to $954,660 from $964,182 last year, pension contributions to the Public Employees Retirement System rose by $8,322 or 9 percent.
   Similarly, total salaries and wages for the paid firefighters declined by $1,000, down to $206,000. In addition, pension contributions to the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System also declined slightly by $600 or 1 percent.
   Debt service in the budget rose by 1 percent to $1.55 million up from last year’s total of $1.53. The budget for capital improvements remains flat at $110,000.