The Monroe Township Council adopted a 2011 municipal budget April 4 that was met with accolades from officials as well as residents.
The budget, which totals $47.4 million, reflects a $22 per-year tax increase for property assessed at the township average of $169,399.
Business Administrator Wayne Hamilton said the budget was prepared in the wake of a heavy volume of successful tax appeals that left the township with a deficit of $1.7 million by the end of 2010. “That [the heavy tax appeals] played a critical role as we were developing a spending plan and revenue plan to put the budget together,” Hamilton said. “This was an interesting budget,” he added, noting that collective bargaining was being accomplished at the same time as the budget this year.
The council recently approved new union contracts with salary increases of 2 percent per year for four years, and implemented a new health insurance plan that will reportedly save the township over $1 million annually, beginning in June. The change will limit employees and retirees to one option for health care plans.
Resident Robert Roche congratulated the council for its work on the budget. “I would also like to compliment you on the insurance [change],” he said. Despite the union contract salary increases, Hamilton said the total amount paid out in salaries and wages has decreased overall, and operating expenses have been reduced by $446,000.
He said the biggest cost increases the township faced in this budget was for pension contributions, which totaled $517,000, and the reserve for uncollected taxes, which is up $400,000.
“We were able to contain and constrain our spending,” Hamilton said. Despite the conditions, he said, the budget came in $1.7 million under the state’s 2 percent cap on tax levy increases.
“These are difficult times, and we recognize that,” Hamilton said. “We are trying to do everything that we possibly can to soften the impact on the residents of this community.”
About a third of the employees who left their positions with the municipality last year were not replaced, Hamilton said. In most cases, full-time positions were changed to part time in order to save money in salaries as well as benefits. Hamilton said the goal was to keep the headcount and still deliver the level of services that residents expect to receive.
He said there are some cases, such as with police officers, when full-time employees have to be fully replaced.
Mayor Richard Pucci applauded the work of the business administrator and explained the difficulty of the budget and how it is nearly impossible to bring a decrease in taxes. He mentioned the idea of trying to consolidate towns and services in New Jersey, but said that is very difficult to do when each community has a “home pride” and a desire to deliver services to their residents.
“If we are going to live with this property tax the way it is, we have to get over the arguments of reducing property taxes, because it’s not going to happen with the current formulas,” he said, adding that the only way it could happen is if a town cut half of its payroll and half its staff. He said no responsible elected official would be able to go home knowing that the town was not fully staffed.
“I think, moving ahead, we have to work with the state and work with the county and dowhat’s best,” he said. “But there are no miracles in this business.
“You work professionally, you do what’s right. I think this budget is a perfect example,” he said, adding that Monroe’s property taxes continue to be among the lowest in the area.
There are still a few minor changes that will be made to the budget, Hamilton said. A public hearing for the amendments will be held on May 2.