BY SUE M. MORGAN
Staff Writer
EATONTOWN — An insurance fund bonus check totaling more than $103,000 that might help officials to shave about a penny off the municipal tax rate is expected to be in the borough’s hands by the end of the calendar year.
Having remained free from costly liability lawsuits, Eatontown is slated to receive a dividend amounting to $103,125 from the Monmouth Joint Insurance Fund (MJIF), the county-wide colloquium that carries the borough’s liability insurance, Councilman John J. Collins announced at the Nov. 10 Borough Council meeting.
Borough officials were notified early last week of the expected allotment which is still pending approval of the state’s Department of Community Affairs (DCA), Collins said.
Once received, most likely by Dec. 31, the funds will be deposited into the borough’s general fund as unanticipated miscellaneous revenue, Collins explained.
Officials are hoping to use the monies, which amount to a little more than one cent off the municipal tax rate, for property tax relief at some point during Fiscal Year 2005 which begins Jan. 1, he continued.
Allotments that Eatontown and the 33 other municipalities that participate in the MJIF have received annually have varied throughout the consortium’s 17 years of existence, said Collins, who is the council’s liaison to the borough’s insurance committee.
A total of $2,034,134 in dividends will be distributed in varying amounts between the 33 member municipalities, Collins said.
Eatontown’s allotment is the fifth largest amount, he noted. The borough of Red Bank will receive a dividend check for $138,173, the third largest of all of the allotments.
Eligibility for and amounts of dividends is determined largely by the municipality’s overall population and how much it pays into the fund to cover liability for services such as the police department, Collins explained.
However, the borough has been spared from costly liability lawsuits, a factor which also helps enhance its standing in the fund, he noted.
Workplace safety in and around borough-owned buildings and facilities has been one of the goals fostered through the municipality’s participation in the colloquium.
“It’s worked very well,” said Collins, who also serves as the council’s liaison to the municipal buildings committee. “[The fund] continues to pay dividends each year.”
Eatontown has participated in the MJIF since 1987 when it was established, said Collins, a 16-year councilman who helped to bring the borough into the colloquium.
At the time of its inception, MGIF provided Eatontown and other county municipalities a way to purchase liability coverage which was often unavailable or if available, offered at prices beyond the reach of most towns at that time, Collins explained.
The state DCA oversees the MGIF and approves the dividends before they are sent to participating communities, Collins said.