By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
ALLENTOWN – Municipal officials said they will keep close tabs on all of the variables that will be used to determine how much money Allentown property owners will pay to support the operation of the Upper Freehold Regional School District in the 2017-18 academic year.
Allentown and Upper Freehold Township comprise the school district and share the costs of operating the Newell Elementary School, the Stone Bridge Middle School and Allentown High School.
Borough officials’ vigilance regarding school budget matters comes in the wake of a year that saw Allentown’s portion of the total tax levy needed to support the school district’s budget increase from 13.04 percent in 2015-16 to 14.26 percent for 2016-17.
That change translated to an increase of about $530 in a property owner’s school taxes (about $132 per quarter) from August 2016 through July 2017.
Tax assessor Vickie Butchon attended the Sept. 27 meeting of the Borough Council and reported to officials and members of the public that she is monitoring all of the variables that will be used to calculate Allentown’s share of the school district tax levy for 2017-18.
Butchon said that for more than 20 years, Allentown’s share of the tax levy had remained steady at about 13 percent. That changed in 2016-17 when the borough’s share rose to slightly more than 14 percent. The net result was a significant increase for property owners.
Officials retained the services of an attorney to investigate the underlying causes of the tax increase.
In July, attorney Vito A. Gagliardi Jr. said the investigation determined that Allentown was legally and properly notified by a representative of the Sales Ratio/Equalization Unit of the New Jersey Division of Taxation of the looming increase for the 2016-17 school year on Oct. 1, 2015.
He said the former administration did not take advantage of a 45-day window that began on Oct. 1, 2015 to appeal the notification there was a 10 percent increase in the equalized valuation for Allentown from the preceding year. The increase was caused by what were referred to as three “usable” home sales that occurred in the borough between January and June 2015.
Gagliardi said Allentown’s new municipal administration, which took office in January, was made aware of the situation in April and reached out to New Jersey treasury and taxation administrators, but were unable to secure any relief. He said the situation was also beyond the assistance of a legal team.
Butchon said she is waiting for information from the state that is expected early this month and will be the starting point for what will be an examination of the process that will eventually produce a school budget for the 2017-18 school year and determine the portion of the tax levy for which Allentown will be responsible.
Butchon said she is hoping that Allentown’s share of the regional school tax levy will return to the level it was at for many years, approximately 13 percent.
Council President Wil Borkowski cautioned that officials should not lead the public to believe the situation may improve until definitive information is available.
Councilwoman Madeline Gavin said Allentown’s chief financial officer will meet with the regional school district’s business administrator early in the budget process so the borough is not caught off guard when it comes to the impact of the 2017-18 school budget on property owners.
Borkowski said, “We want to be proactive in this situation.”
The Upper Freehold Regional School District Board of Education adopted a $41.07 million budget for the 2016-17 school year. The budget is supported by the collection of $25.19 million in taxes from residential and commercial property owners in Upper Freehold Township ($21.6 million) and Allentown ($3.59 million).