MANALAPAN — The Township Committee is expected to adopt a $30.68 million municipal budget for 2012 at its meeting on May 9.
The budget was the subject of a public hearing on April 25. Residents Tom Madden, Deborah Smarth, Ray Kalainikas and Butch Budai addressed the budget.
Madden expressed concern that all pertinent budget documents had not been posted on the township’s Internet website prior to the public hearing; Smarth asked questions about various line items in the budget; and Kalainikas suggested that the committee could sell unencumbered municipal land to generate revenue and use more money from the surplus account to decrease the amount that will be collected in municipal taxes.
Smarth touched on the topic of municipal employees’ health care costs and officials noted that as a group, Manalapan’s municipal employees will pay $159,000 toward their health care costs this year.
That number ($159,000) is expected to increase in the future, Chief Financial Officer Patricia Addario told Smarth.
Prior to reforms enacted by the state Legislature, municipal employees made no payment toward their health care costs.
“In this fiscal climate, the committee could have done a little more to cut” from the municipal budget, Smarth said.
During his remarks, Kalainikas said that when a municipal employee leaves a fulltime position, the township should fill that job with part-time employees so that benefits need not be paid.
Township Administrator Tara Lovrich said that has been done in some cases.
Mayor Susan Cohen said, “We have done everything we can to keep taxes low. We are working diligently to produce an effective budget without cutting essential services.”
Budai noted that out of every $1 a property owner pays in property taxes, 65 cents goes to the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District and to the Freehold Regional High School District.
“Our governing body has kept our (municipal) tax rate stable or as low as possible while providing services we cannot provide for ourselves, such as police, trash collection, health services and public works,” Budai said.
Cohen noted that the municipal tax rate is rising slightly in 2012, from 33.2 cents to 33.9 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
The total tax rate in Manalapan is projected to rise from $2.029 in 2011 to $2.047 per $100 of assessed valuation in 2012.
The total tax rate includes municipal taxes, Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District taxes, Freehold Regional High School District taxes, Monmouth County taxes, fire district taxes and several other assessments.
Those numbers mean the owner of a home that is assessed at $100,000 will pay $339 in municipal taxes in 2012, up from $332 in 2011. That individual’s total tax bill will rise from $2,029 to $2,047.
The owner of a home that is assessed at $250,000 will pay $848 in municipal taxes in 2012, up from $830 in 2011. That individual’s total tax bill will rise from $5,072 to $5,117.
The owner of a home that is assessed at the township average of $378,566 will pay $1,283 in municipal taxes in 2012, up from $1,256 in 2011. That individual’s total tax bill will rise from $7,679 to $7,747.
The owner of a home that is assessed at $500,000 will pay $1,695 in municipal taxes in 2012, up from $1,660 in 2011. That individual’s total tax bill will rise from $10,145 to $10,235.
The owner of a home that is assessed at $700,000 will pay $2,373 in municipal taxes in 2012, up from $2,324 in 2011. That individual’s total tax bill will rise from $14,203 to $14,329.
According to information provided by municipal officials, the 2012 budget will rely on the collection of $19.4 million in local taxes from Manalapan property owners. The budget will use $3.5 million in surplus funds as revenue (leaving $1.1 million in surplus) and Manalapan will receive $3.86 million in state aid (the same amount as 2011).
Committeeman Ryan Green said items that will be considered in Manalapan’s long-term financial planning include taking action to bring more commercial ratables to the township. Doing that, he said, would lift some of the property tax burden from residents.
Also to be considered are user fees for specific programs so the township is not subsidizing those programs; municipal insurance costs; and the rates being paid by Manalapan for professional services, according to Green.