The Lawrence Township Council got its first look at the proposed $49.1 million municipal budget for 2019, which carries a 2-cent increase in the municipal property tax, at its meeting last week.
The municipal property tax rate would increase from 55 cents per $100 of assessed value to 57 cents. This means the municipal property taxes on a house assessed at the township average of $281,285 would increase by $56.26 – from $1,547.06 last year to $1,603.32 for 2019.
The proposed 2019 municipal budget is $2.3 million more than last year’s budget of $46.8 million. Part of the increase is due to contractual obligations, such as salary increases, and the addition of new positions.
The budget includes an additional Class III special police officer, who will be assigned to one of the Lawrence Township Public Schools buildings, Municipal Manager Kevin Nerwinski said.
Nerwinski said the proposed 2019 municipal budget includes an assistant comptroller position in the Finance Department. The assistant comptroller will provide support for finance and accounting operations, he said.
Several new employees were hired last year, Nerwinski said, but “at that time, we made it clear that hiring additional employees would not be an annual trend because we are mindful of our not-so-distant past financial struggles.”
“We are approaching the sweet spot to have the right number of employees. Looking ahead to 2020, we will be exactly where we need to be – prudent, but with enough staff,” Nerwinski said.
The number of municipal employees stood at 207 in 2010, but dropped to 172 in 2016. New positions have been added, and the number of municipal employees will be 190 under the proposed 2019 municipal budget.
The main source of revenue to support the spending plan is property taxes. The amount to be raised by property taxes is $26.6 million for 2019, which is a $927,000 increase over the $25.7 million property tax levy for the 2018 budget.
The budget also anticipates using $5.6 million in surplus funds as a source of revenue to balance the budget, plus $3.9 million in state aid.
Miscellaneous revenues, such as liquor licenses, fees and permits, Municipal Court fines and costs, the hotel and motel tax, and grants will generate an additional $16 million.
Mayor Christopher Bobbitt said the 2-cent increase in the municipal property tax rate is “something we will have to look at.” Residents are concerned about the new federal tax law, he said, which places a $10,000 cap on the amount of state and local taxes that can be deducted on a personal federal income tax return.
Township Council member Cathleen Lewis said that “one thing we should strive to do is to hold the tax rate steady” and avoid wide swings in the municipal property tax rate. She also suggested finding ways to make sure residents know about the array of municipal services.
Nerwinski said the administration tries to avoid swings in the municipal tax rate, and is mindful of “getting the ship steady.” The administration is not comfortable in asking for an increase, but it is trying to avoid tax swings, he said.
Meanwhile, the department heads are slated to appear before the Lawrence Township Council at its Feb. 5 and Feb. 19 meetings to present their departmental budgets as part of the budget review process.