Property owners in Metuchen will see a 5 percent increase in their municipal tax bills for 2015.
Unanimously approved at the July 20 Borough Council meeting, the budget totals $18.3 million. Of that total, $11.1 million will be paid by residential and commercial property owners in the borough — an amount roughly $100,000 more than what was paid by taxpayers in 2014.
“It is a very tight budget, and it still provides the services that we’ve been maintaining,” Mayor Thomas Vahalla said.
The 5.33 percent increase represents an additional $95.68 on the tax bills of homeowners with properties assessed at Metuchen’s average of $191,368, according to Borough Administrator Jennifer Maier.
Comprising a major part of the increase are bonds owed by the borough for work on Borough Hall and the refinancing of other bonds, according to Vahalla. He said officials took advantage of lower interest rates by refinancing.
“Over time, it’s a savings, but for now … we have to pay a little bit more.”
More than $2 million of the budget is earmarked for the paying down of interest and principal on bonds.
While the budget includes funds to pay down debt for past projects, no funds are earmarked for new capital projects in town, Maier said.
Vahalla said the budget includes funds to purchase some equipment,
According to Maier, police expenditures represent the largest portion of the borough’s tab.
“The reason they are such a significant part of the budget is that a lot of their expenses are mandated,” she said. “They put their lives on the line every day, so that’s why they’re paid higher [than those in other departments].”
Still, she said, police spending is only up 1.5 percent from last year. The budget will use $1.2 million in surplus funds, Maier said. Metuchen is set to receive $1.4 million in state aid, consisting of $84,411 in consolidated municipal property tax relief, and $1.3 million in energy tax receipts. Vahalla pointed out that while the borough’s roughly 13,574 residents are facing an increase, they can rest assured that they will continue to receive the same services to which they have become accustomed.
Vahalla said the Pearl Street Piazza and The District at Metuchen — which will house Whole Foods Market — will bring an influx of revenue to the borough for years to come.