By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Lawrence Township’s municipal property tax rate will remain flat at 53 cents per $100 of assessed value for the fourth year in a row, under the proposed 2017 municipal budget., Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun unveiled the proposed $44.3 million municipal budget before Township Council Tuesday night. This marks his final budget presentation, because he is retiring in May., A tax rate of 53 cents means the owner of a house assessed at the township average of $282,093 will pay $1,487 in municipal property taxes — unchanged since 2014. The entire tax bill includes school district and county taxes., The proposed budget does not include layoffs. Instead, it adds a new civilian position in the Police Department. The Records Support Technician 1 will be assigned to the evidence room, which will permit a police officer to be reassigned back to patrol, Mr. Krawczun said., The budget also increases the amount of direct aid to each of the three volunteer fire departments by $3,000 — from $33,000 to $36,000 for 2017. The fire departments raise more money privately to support themselves., The $44.3 million spending plan for 2017 is $511,000 more than last year’s budget, Mr. Krawczun said. Increases of $51,000 in salaries, plus $135,000 in legal fees in connection with ongoing affordable housing litigation, plus $75,000 more for health insurance premiums and $70,000 for increased pension contributions account for some of the budget increase., Mr. Krawczun explained that there are several sources of revenue for the budget. The list includes miscellaneous revenue, state aid, property taxes and surplus funds., Miscellaneous revenues, which includes alcoholic beverage licenses, construction fees and permits, Municipal Court fines, hotel and motel taxes and recreation program fees, are expected to generate $14.9 million., The amount to be raised by property taxes is budgeted at $23.8 million, which is $34,000 more than 2016, Mr. Krawczun said. State aid, however, remains flat at $3.9 million., Surplus funds account for an additional source of revenue. The 2017 municipal budget anticipates using $4.7 million in surplus funds. Mr. Krawczun pointed out that at the end of 2016, the surplus account had grown to $11.7 million — the largest surplus fund since 2008., Wrapping up the budget presentation, Mr. Krawczun reminded Township Council that this is his final budget presentation. He thanked current and past Township Councils, township department directors and the staffs of the Finance Division and the Municipal Manager’s Office “for the many years of support, patience and many contributions” in developing and managing the budget., Township Councilman Michael Powers, who was filling in for Mayor David Maffei in his absence, told Mr. Krawczun that “the budget is your creation.” He said Mr. Krawczun had taken a long-term approach to crafting the budget — not just from year to year, but “out to 2020.”, Councilman Jim Kownacki and Councilwoman Cathleen Lewis also thanked Mr. Krawczun for his work. Mr. Kownacki said he could not thank Mr. Krawczun enough for guiding Lawrence Township through challenging financial times., “You make it look easy, but it is not (easy),” Ms. Lewis said. Township Council has had to make some “tough choices” to get through difficult financial times over the past few years, she added., Councilman Christopher Bobbitt said he has seen the budget from both sides, as a volunteer on advisory boards and now as an elected official. There is a certain amount of discipline involved in creating budgets., “I have learned that you helped bring us through a rough patch. We all appreciate this budget,” Mr. Bobbitt said., Township Council will begin its budget deliberations at a future meeting.
