Members of the Cranbury Township Committee voted unanimously to adopt a $14.33 million budget to fund the municipality in 2020.
Mayor Matt Scott, Deputy Mayor Mike Ferrante, Committeeman James Taylor, Committeewoman Evelyn Spann and Committeewoman Barbara Rogers voted “yes” on a motion to adopt the budget during a meeting on April 13.
Denise Marabello, Cranbury’s township administrator and chief financial officer, said the 2020 budget does not include an increase in the municipal tax rate, which is expected to remain stable at 34.8 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
“There will be a zero cent tax increase on the municipal side,” Marabello said.
Residential and commercial property owners are projected to pay $6.98 million to support the 2020 budget.
There are no cuts in township services with the budget, according to Marabello.
The 2019 budget totaled $13.61 million. Residential and commercial property owners paid a total tax levy of $6.7 million to support the budget.
In the 2019 budget, officials used $1.79 million from the surplus funds as revenue in the budget.
For 2020, officials will use $3.2 million from the surplus funds as revenue in the budget.
In 2019, the municipal tax rate was 34.8 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a home that is still assessed at $650,000 paid $2,262 in municipal taxes
Municipal taxes are one item on a property owner’s total tax bill, which also includes school taxes and Middlesex County taxes.
The amount an individual pays in taxes is determined by the assessed value of his home and/or property, and the tax rate that is set by each taxing entity.
In addition to property taxes and funds from surplus, revenues in the 2020 budget are projected to include $3.86 million in miscellaneous revenues and $467,000 in state aid.
“We have not reduced any of our projected revenues,” Marabello said in regards to revenue projections being revised in the face of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Cranbury Township’s budget covers the cost of providing emergency management, shared service agreements such as sewer maintenance and municipal court, road and vehicle maintenance, maintenance for township parks, law enforcement through the police department, first aid and the fire company.