EATONTOWN – The Eatontown Borough Council has introduced a $26.22 million budget to fund the operation of the municipality in 2019.
During a Borough Council meeting on April 24, council President Patricia May Kelly, Councilman Al Baginsky, Councilwoman Jasmine Story and Councilwoman Tonya Rivera voted “yes” on a motion to introduce the spending plan.
Councilwoman Jennifer Sherrod was absent. Councilman Gregory Loxton, who was appointed to the council that evening to fill an open seat, abstained.
The council has scheduled a public hearing on the budget for May 22. Residents may ask questions about or comment on the spending plan that evening. The council members may adopt the budget following the public hearing.
In 2018, the municipal budget totaled $25.8 million and was supported through the collection of $17.75 million in taxes from Eatontown’s residential and commercial property owners.
Eatontown’s municipal tax rate in 2018 was 83 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a home assessed at the borough average of $335,000 paid about $2,780 in municipal taxes.
In 2019, the municipal budget totals $26.22 million and will be supported through the collection of $18.2 million in taxes from the borough’s residential and commercial property owners.
The municipal tax rate is projected to remain at 83 cents per $100 of assessed valuation in 2019. The average home is now assessed at $349,000 and the owner of that home will pay about $2,897 in municipal taxes this year.
Municipal taxes are one item on a property owner’s tax bill. Eatontown property owners also pay school taxes and Monmouth County taxes.
The amount an individual pays in property taxes is determined by the assessed value of his home and/or property, and the tax rate that is set by each taxing entity.
Significant appropriations in the 2019 Eatontown budget include group health insurance, $3.38 million; police salaries and wages, $5.91 million; Road Repair and Maintenance, Salaries and Wages, $1.98 million; Monmouth County Reclamation Center fees, $275,000; payment to the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System of New Jersey, $1.28 million; and Borough Community Center, Salaries and Wages, $251,696.