Municipal taxes paid by the owner of a home assessed at Howell’s average value will decrease in 2015 under the budget that has been introduced by the Township Council.
Howell’s municipal tax rate will decrease from 45.3 cents to 39.8 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
In 2014, the average home in Howell was assessed at $275,800 and the owner of that home paid $1,249 in municipal taxes.
In 2015, the average home in Howell is assessed at $308,500, but with the 5.5-cent decrease in the tax rate, the owner of that home will pay $1,227 in municipal taxes — a decrease of $22.
If an individual’s home was assessed at $300,000 in 2014 and is still assessed at $300,000 in 2015, his municipal tax will drop from $1,359 to $1,194 — a decrease of $165.
Municipal taxes are one part of a property owner’s total tax bill, which also includes Howell K-8 School District taxes, Freehold Regional High School District taxes, Monmouth County taxes, a fire district tax and other assessments.
Municipal property taxes pay for all operations in Town Hall, including the Police Department, township administration, the planning and zoning offices, parks and recreation, public works and municipal professionals such as attorneys, engineers and planners.
Howell’s 2015 budget totals $46.2 million and will be supported by the collection of $24.5 million in local property taxes.
The 2014 budget totaled $45.9 million and was supported by a $25.3 million tax levy, according to municipal officials.
Howell’s residential and commercial property owners will save a total of $800,000 in municipal taxes this year.
The budget was introduced by the council on March 16. A public hearing is scheduled for April 20. Following the public hearing, the council may vote to adopt the budget.
The five-year trend for the tax levy shows $24.8 million was collected from taxpayers in 2011; $23.4 million was collected from taxpayers in 2012; $25.3 million was collected from taxpayers in both 2013 and 2014; and $24.5 million will be collected from taxpayers in 2015.
The 2015 budget indicates that officials will use slightly more money from the surplus (savings) account this year than in 2014. The council used $3.3 million from surplus as revenue in the 2014 budget and will use $3.5 million from surplus as revenue in the 2015 budget.
Grants to support the budget will decrease by $180,501, to $208,270, and include the Drunk Driving Enforcement Fund ($32,908), the Clean Communities Program ($96,149), a Recycling Tonnage Grant ($51,713) and the Monmouth County Senior Citizens Grant ($27,500), according to Chief Financial Officer Louis Palazzo. State aid for 2015 will remain unchanged at $7.92 million. The amount Howell receives in state aid has remained flat for several years, according to Palazzo.
Palazzo said the budget accounts for the hiring of four police officers and four laborers. The new police officers were sworn in on Jan. 1.
“Additionally, with this budget, there are also increases for health insurance, pension costs, debt service and contractual salary obligations,” he said.
The possible installation of a turf playing field at the Howell High School football stadium is not currently accounted for in the 2015 budget, according to Palazzo.
“The turf field project has been listed in the capital spending plan within the capital budget, which is for planning purposes only. The spending and funding authority on a plan such as this is created when the bond ordinance for the project is adopted by the governing body, and that has not been presented to them at this time,” he said.
Officials estimate the cost of the turf field to be about $2.6 million. No decision on whether to proceed with that project has been made by the council. The budget shows an estimated completion date for the project of 2016.