BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
OLD BRIDGE — As township officials move forward on the vacant properties ordinance that was adopted last year, staffing concerns within the township’s Building Department will be among the items discussed when the 2017 municipal budget is put together.
A full-time housing inspector and a part-time code enforcement official are included in the proposed budget, Business Administrator Christopher Marion said.
“We heard [the concerns] loud and clear on that,” he said.
The department currently has one full-time building inspector and one sub-code official.
The Township Council approved the introduction of the $54.6 million budget, which sees an increase of $39,547 over the 2016 municipal budget, at a council meeting on Feb. 6. A public hearing on the budget will be held on March 13.
The proposed municipal and library tax increase would be $18. If the budget is adopted, the owner of an Old Bridge home assessed at the township average of $152,500 will pay $1,592, an increase from $1,574 in 2016, according to Marion.
The proposed tax rate is estimated to be $1.044, which reflects a tax increase of $0.12 cents per $100 of assessed valuation over the 2016 municipal tax rate for the average home.
There will be three Township Council budget subcommittee meetings for review of the proposed 2017 municipal budget before the public hearing.
One was held on Feb. 16; the next meeting will be held on Feb. 23 and the last meeting will be held on March 2. Township officials said the public is welcome at the meetings.
Marion said a more detailed and formal presentation of the budget will be held at the public hearing at the Council meeting on March 13.
Contact Kathy Chang at [email protected].