Denkensohn
debate plan to use
deferred school taxes
Revised budget shows no
increase in town tax rate
Scannapieco,
Denkensohn
debate plan to use
deferred school taxes
By jeanette m. eng
Staff Writer
The 2003 municipal budget presented by Marlboro Mayor Matthew Scanna-pieco to the Township Council on March 13 calls for no increase in the municipal tax rate.
An initial budget presented by the mayor last month proposed a 1-cent increase in the municipal tax rate.
The municipal tax is one tax paid by local property owners. Other portions of the tax bill are Marlboro K-8 school taxes, Freehold Regional High School District taxes and Monmouth County taxes.
The council members will now hold budget review sessions with the administration and department heads prior to the formal adoption of the budget. The council has the ability to change the budget prior to its final adoption, Business Admin-istrator Christopher Marion said.
The 2003 municipal budget of $25,560,232 reflects an increase of $959,474 from the 2002 budget. With no increase in the municipal tax rate, property owners will continue to pay a tax rate of 41.9 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
That means the owner of a home assessed at $200,000 will continue to pay $838 in municipal taxes in 2003. The owner of a home assessed at $300,000 will continue to pay $1,257 in municipal taxes.
The mayor said the increase in expenditures is due to a combination of a $202,000 increase in health benefits, almost $500,000 in snow-removal costs, and an increase in negotiated employee salaries.
According to the mayor’s budget address, employee salaries, benefits and payroll taxes make up approximately 70 percent of total annual municipal expenditures.
"There is generally no room for reductions in this area without negatively impacting the services that the township provides," Scannapieco said.
Other components of operating expenses include funding for ongoing and/or enhanced public safety initiatives, support for the mayor-appointed volunteer committees and the annual capital improvement program.
Reductions in revenue have also affected the budget in the form of $350,000 less in federal grants. These three- and four-year grants are dedicated to the hiring of additional police officers and "the grants have run out," according Scannapieco.
When the federal grants that help to pay the salaries of police officers hired with those federal grants run out, the township becomes responsible for paying 100 percent of the officers’ salary.
This is also the second year in a row that the town has received no increase in state aid. Altoget-her, Marlboro expects to receive $1.4 million less in revenue.
"An appropriation of $7 million from surplus will be required in order to bring the 2003 budget into balance," the mayor said in his budget address.
Moving the $7 million out of surplus and into the budget will leave $130,000 in surplus.
According to the mayor, using deferred school taxes is his recommendation in order to support the surplus. He said that is a right the council has exercised for the past 12 years.
According to Scannapieco, staying true to past practice would yield a surplus of $4.3 million as opposed to $130,000.
At a prior council meeting, however, Councilman Barry Denkensohn expressed reservations about using the $4 million of deferred school taxes.
"This year we have $7 million available in surplus. I don’t think that using $4 million in additional deferred school taxes is prudent at all," he said. "When revenues go down, expenses need to go down. That’s the responsibility of the council."
According to Denkensohn, his feelings were in consensus with his colleagues to ensure that deferred school taxes would not be used toward expenditures.
"The mayor’s administration has, at their disposal, $7 million in surplus," Denkensohn said, noting that this was $2 million more than was available last year.
Denkensohn said it was not clear what the mayor intended to use the additional $4 million for and upon review of the budget, the council would be in a better position to grant the use of the deferred school taxes.
According to the mayor, private conversations between Denkensohn and township auditor Thomas Fallon had influenced the budget in that the deferred school taxes were not applied.
"I find it unfortunate that you [Denkensohn] unilaterally discussed with auditors and took action on financial statements without having benefit of discussing it with the full council," Scannapieco said. "It is my recommendation that we continue with past practice."
Denkensohn, however, did not believe his actions to be wrong.
"I don’t know why you should find it objectionable that I call the township auditors since they are appointed by us," he said.