FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – Members of the Township Committee have proposed reducing the Fire District No. 1 Board of Fire Commissioners’ proposed 2018 tax levy by $525,750.
Committee members reviewed the board’s 2018 budget on March 13 after voters rejected the proposed tax levy in the annual fire district vote in February.
The fire commissioners proposed a 2018 budget that totaled $1.3 million and called for the entire amount to be collected in taxes from the fire district’s residential and commercial property owners. On Feb. 17, voters defeated the budget, 127 to 109.
On March 13, Township Committee members voted to create a resolution that will authorize a tax levy of $774,200 for Fire District No. 1 in 2018; that figure represents a reduction of $525,750 from the tax levy the fire commissioners proposed. Because the entire budget is to be supported by property taxes, the 2018 budget will total $774,200 if the resolution is approved. The committee is expected to vote on the resolution on March 26.
In 2017, a budget totaling $1.2 million that would have been supported through the collection of $1.1 million in taxes was rejected at the polls. The committee subsequently authorized a tax levy of $896,500 and a total budget of $1 million. The Fire District No. 1 tax rate was 2.7 cents per $100 of assessed valuation and the average home assessment was $388,672. The owner of that home paid $105 in fire district taxes.
In 2018, the average home assessment is $388,000. The fire commissioners proposed a tax rate of 3.84 cents per $100, which would have resulted in fire district taxes of $149 to the owner of a home assessed at the township average. Now, the governing body’s proposed budget will lower the fire district tax rate to 1.22 cents per $100, yielding a fire district tax of $47.
Proposed reductions to the fire commissioners’ budget are: a $95,000 reduction in certain non-bondable expenses; the removal of $85,000 in salaries for operations and maintenance; the removal of $65,000 in capital expenditures; a $50,400 reduction in operating supplies; a $42,750 reduction in building maintenance; a $39,000 reduction in education and training; a $19,400 reduction in professional fees; a $16,000 reduction in truck repairs and maintenance; the removal of $9,000 in fringe benefits for operations and maintenance; a $9,000 reduction in utilities; a $7,500 reduction in insurance; a $6,000 reduction in salaries and wages for administration; a $3,000 reduction in information technology maintenance; a $3,000 reduction in cell costs; a $2,500 reduction in computer expense; a $2,250 reduction in equipment testing; an $800 reduction in fringe benefits for administration; and a $150 reduction in elections.
The revised budget adds $70,000 from surplus (savings), which further reduces the amount to be collected in taxes.
Fire District 1 is west of Route 9. Firefighting services are provided by the Freehold Township Independent Fire Company No. 1.
In a statement issued following the Township Committee’s action, the Fire District No. 1 Board of Fire Commissioners said, “With the new budget provided by the Township Committee, the Board of Fire Commissioners can guarantee coverage and service to the residents of Fire District No. 1.”