HOLMDEL — The township’s $21.9 million budget will include a tax increase despite a 2-cent drop in the tax rate.
The owner of a home valued at the township average of $656,969 will pay roughly $2,299 in municipal taxes under the Township Committee’s unanimously adopted budget. This represents a rise from last year, when the average home was assessed at $615,711 and the municipal tax bill was $2,278.
Municipal taxes are one component of the property tax bill, and do not include school, library or county taxes.
The change in assessment is the result of Monmouth County’s Real Property Assessment Demonstration Program, which calls for properties to be reassessed annually using a combination of sales data and an inspection of 20 percent of properties each year. Under the program, the township’s total property assessments have increased from $3.8 billion in 2014 to $4.1 billion this year.
Township Auditor Bill Antonides said the Real Property Assessment Demonstration Program insulated the township from the typical bevy of tax appeals. Successful tax appeals require the township to return taxes improperly collected from a resident based on an inaccurate or outdated home assessment.
“With the assessment program going on, as long as it continues, we won’t have to pay that money back,” Antonides said. “The past couple of years, that’s had a major impact on our budget.”
While taxes are set to increase slightly, the $14,354,244 tax levy remained well under the 2 percent cap imposed by state law, rising just 1.13 percent from 2014. Total appropriations rose 0.67 percent from $21,738,596 last year.
According to Antonides, the township did not use any “one-time revenues,” or money that would not be generated in the subsequent year, to balance the budget.
“In the past, we’ve used a lot of one-time revenues to balance the budget,” Antonides said. “This budget is completely balanced on the operations of what we take in and what we spend.”
Township Committeeman Joseph Ponisi applauded the budget, citing the minimal tax increase.
“I have to say this is probably the best budget put together by Jeanette and Bill in recent memory,” Ponisi said, referring to Antonides and Chief Financial Officer Jeanette Larrison. “This is the smallest tax increase we’ve had in a very, very long time, and the residents should be very proud of the work that’s been done on this year’s budget.”
Some of the larger appropriations include $5.2 million for police salaries and wages, $1.9 million for group health insurance for employees, and $934,000 for public works salaries.
The spending plan also includes $2.3 million in total municipal debt service.