MIDDLETOWN — Township Committee members have unanimously adopted a $69.4 million municipal budget for 2015 that will raise taxes for residents this year by less than 1 percent.
At a special meeting on April 30, Mayor Stephanie C. Murray said the proposed 0.97 percent tax levy increase is the lowest increase for the township in the last decade.
“I want to commend the Chief Financial Officer [Colleen M. Lapp] and the administration,” she said. “They always work so hard to present a fiscally responsible budget, and it shows.
“Over the last ten years, we have had one of the lowest rates in the county.”
The proposed tax levy increase is well below the state-mandated 2 percent tax levy cap law.
According to Lapp, the proposed municipal budget includes an estimated tax rate of 48.9 cents per $100 of assessed value, down from 51 cents in 2014.
The owner of a home valued at the township average of $396,300 will pay $1,805 in municipal taxes this year.
Last year, the owner of a home valued at the township average of $375,600 paid $1,901 in municipal taxes.
“Once again, this budget reaffirms our commitment to keeping a good balance between taxpayer dollars and essential dollars that the municipality needs to provide services,” Murray said.
Deputy Mayor Stephen Massell said, “We’ve been trending down well below the 2 percent cap, and I’m very proud of the work we have done here as a committee.”
Lapp said the 2015 budget has a nearly $1 million reduction in the municipality’s spending plan — going from $70.4 million in the 2014 budget cycle to $69.4 million for this year’s budget.
“This year, we saw a decrease in revenues by about $1,514,783 from last year, so we … did a lot of cutting and tried to keep things as low as we possibly could,” she said.
According to Lapp, the decrease in revenues is attributed to numerous factors, including court revenues being down and lower parking permit fees.
Other factors associated with the tax levy include substantial costs associated with snow removal and the extreme cold weather experienced earlier this year.
“Snow removal prior to this year was somewhere under half a million dollars, and this year we are at close to $1.3 million,” Lapp said.
Snow removal costs to date total $1,268,500.
“Absorbing the winter that we had and the expenses that came along with it was really quite a challenge. … And to deal with that in the budget and keep it under 2 percent is amazing,” Committeeman Gerard Scharfenberger said.
Lapp said, “We always try to budget appropriately for what we think is going to happen, and snow removal this year and last year have certainly been a larger expense overall for the township.”
According to Lapp, another factor in this year’s budget is the fact that insurance costs have increased by 6.5 percent or $600,000.
“We’re self-insured. … We have seen increases in claims in recent years. … But I don’t expect it to be a trend in coming years,” she said.
Lapp said the township has also benefited from savings due to shared-services agreements with surrounding municipalities and the Board of Education.
Significant savings in utility bills for the township have also been realized through an energy audit conducted last year, upgrades to lighting and HVAC systems, and purchasing natural gas and electric in aggregate as part of a cooperative of government agencies.
Lapp said the energy audit and upgrades were fully funded through grant monies, and utility costs are down 6.4 percent or $223,000.
“This is an excellent budget once again,” Committeeman Kevin Settembrino said.
Committeeman Anthony Fiore said, “I’m glad to be voting on a budget which I believe … takes the whole balance and challenge we face here as a governing body … in not only providing the best for taxpayers, but also coming well within our 2 percent property tax cap.
“The changes that we continue to implement … will have positive impacts for future budget years and future township committee voters.”
The municipal budget makes up nearly 22 percent of the average property tax bill with , the remainder going toward school and county tax levies.