UPPER FREEHOLD – The Township Committee has introduced a $5.94 million budget to fund the operation of Upper Freehold Township during 2020.
The budget was introduced by committee members on April 2. A public hearing on the budget will be held at 7 p.m. May 7. The committee may adopt the budget that evening.
The $5.94 million budget, which can be amended prior to its final adoption, will be supported in part by the collection of $3.11 million in taxes from Upper Freehold’s residential and commercial property owners, the appropriation of $1.49 million from surplus funds (savings) and the receipt of $511,391 in state aid.
The budget includes the following appropriations: debt service, $1.28 million; reserve for uncollected taxes, $1 million; general government, $657,950; public safety, $646,876; insurance, $369,019; deferred charges/statutory expenditures, $247,064; capital improvements, $235,000; public works, $225,485; utility expenses and bulk purchases, $96,500; and Uniform Construction Code, $73,000.
Upper Freehold’s 2019 budget totaled $5.66 million and was supported in part by the collection of $3.11 million in taxes from property owners. The tax levy will remain flat from 2019 to 2020.
In 2019, the municipal tax rate was 23.7 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The average home was assessed at $488,300 and the owner of that home paid $1,157 in municipal taxes.
In 2020, the municipal tax rate is projected to remain stable at 23.7 cents per $100 of assessed valuation and the owner of a home that is still assessed at $488,300 will continue to pay $1,157 in municipal taxes.
Municipal taxes are one item on a property owner’s tax bill, which also includes Monmouth County taxes and Upper Freehold Regional School District taxes.
The total amount a property owner pays in taxes is based on the assessed value of his home and/or property and the tax rate that is set by each taxing entity.
Upper Freehold Township had an estimated population of 7,019 residents as of July 1, 2018, according to www.census.gov