The Township Committee in Upper Freehold Township has introduced a $5.19 million municipal budget that will carry a small increase in taxes.
The budget was introduced on March 5 and will be the subject of a public hearing and a possible vote for adoption at the committee’s April 2 meeting.
According to municipal officials, the tax levy to support the budget will amount to $2.63 million.
The tax levy is the total amount of property taxes to be collected from Upper Freehold’s residential and commercial property owners to support the operation of the municipality this year.
The remainder of the revenue that is needed to support the budget will come from other sources.
Upper Freehold’s 2014 budget totaled $5.15 million and was supported by a tax levy of $2.46 million, according to township officials.
State aid to Upper Freehold for 2015 will remain at $511,391, the same amount that was provided in 2014.
For 2015, the township has a recycling tonnage grant that was not in the 2014 budget that totals $2,758. A grant that supports the Municipal Alliance on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse is decreasing from $59,923 in 2014 to $39,949 in 2015.
Capital improvement expenditures are expected to increase from $110,000 in 2014 to $210,000 for 2015.
Upper Freehold’s debt service payment has decreased from $1.55 million in 2014 to $1.52 million in 2015.
The budget indicates that municipal officials plan to use $1.1 million from surplus funds (savings) as revenue in 2015, with $2.19 million remaining in surplus. The township used $1.12 million from surplus as revenue in the 2014 budget.
According to Chief Financial Officer Dianne Kelly, who is also the township’s business administrator, the municipal tax rate will increase from 20.7 cents per $100 of assessed valuation in 2014 to 21.4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation in 2015.
In 2014, the average home in Upper Freehold was assessed at $446,800 and the owner of that home paid $925 in municipal taxes.
In 2015, the average home in Upper Freehold is assessed at $464,995 and the owner of that home will pay $995 in municipal taxes.
If an individual had a home assessed at $450,000 in 2014 that remained at that assessment in 2015, his municipal tax bill will increase from $931 to $963.
Municipal taxes are one portion of an Upper Freehold property owner’s total tax bill. The tax bill also includes taxes paid to Monmouth County and to the Upper Freehold Regional School District, among other taxing entities.