The borough is proposing to spend $574,676 this year, which officials said would mean a small or no tax hike for the average homeowner.
By: Linda Seida
STOCKTON The Borough Council will hold a public hearing May 29 on the proposed $564,676 budget for 2007 that would mean a small or no tax hike for the average homeowner.
After the hearing, members of the council are expected to vote on the spending plan.
The budget represents an increase of about $20,000 more than the $544,183 budget for 2006.
"Our budget is very, very tight," Mayor Stephen Giocondo said.
The mayor attributed the increase to Stockton’s share for capital improvements at the Lambertville Sewerage Authority. As a customer of the LSA, the borough is contractually obligated to contribute.
"Included is a $24,000 payment to LSA for our share of the improvements that the authority has done and will do to their plant," Mayor Giocondo said.
The improvements are directly related to damage the plant incurred during a flood last year, according to Stockton Chief Financial Officer Diane Schubach.
The borough’s sewer utility does not have the funds to pay the expense "and so it must be raised by general taxation," she said.
Only $7,000 from the tax levy will go toward the LSA bill, according to Ms. Schubach.
"The rest was raised from other sources," she said.
The tax levy, which is the portion of the budget to be raised from local taxes, would be $239,803 in 2007, an increase of about $7,000 from the $232,819 tax levy in 2006.
Because Stockton recently underwent a revaluation when the ratio of selling prices to assessments had fallen too far, the average assessment rose from $166,433 to $337,945, while the tax rate fell from 59 cents per $100 of assessed value to 24 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Because the ratables increased by slightly more than double, the tax rate had to be slashed to compensate, Ms. Schubach explained.
"For most homeowners the average annual increase in municipal taxes should be nominal, to nonexistent," she said.
If the council approves the proposed budget, the tax bill for the owner of a house assessed at the average of $337,945 would be $811.