SOUTH BRUNSWICK – If South Brunswick’s proposed 2018 municipal budget is adopted by the Township Council on June 12, municipal taxes will increase by about $87 for the owner of a home that is assessed at township average.
The budget totals $56.1 million. A local tax levy of $34.7 million will be collected from the community’s residential and commercial property owners to support the spending plan.
South Brunswick’s 2017 budget totaled $54.9 million and included a local tax levy of $33.7 million.
The municipal tax rate was 91.3 cents per $100 of assessed valuation and the average assessed value of a home in the township was $188,800. The owner of that home paid about $1,724 in municipal taxes.
The municipal tax rate for 2018 is projected to be 92.4 cents per $100. The average home is assessed at $196,000, according to CFO/Deputy Manager Joseph Monzo. The owner of a home assessed at the township average will pay about $1,811 in municipal taxes in 2018.
If an individual owned a home that was assessed at $200,000 in 2017 and if that home is still assessed at $200,000 for 2018, the municipal tax will increase from $1,826 to $1,848.
Municipal taxes are one item on a property owner’s tax bill, which also includes South Brunswick school taxes and Middlesex County taxes. Individuals pay property taxes based on the assessed value of their home and property, and the tax rate that is set by each taxing entity.
State aid for 2018 will be $5.1 million, the same amount South Brunswick received in 2017. Officials will use $4.15 million from the township’s surplus funds (savings) as revenue in the budget.
There is “nothing out of the normal course of operations” included in the 2018 budget, according to Monzo. There is one new police officer and one new public works laborer included. Capital improvements are proposed, “but the details are still being determined,” he said.
The budget is expected to be adopted by the council following a public hearing on June 12.