MANALAPAN — The Township Committee has unanimously introduced a $33.8
million budget to fund the operation of Manalapan during 2018 and set 8 p.m. April
25 as the date for a public hearing on the spending plan.
If the budget is adopted as proposed, the owner of a home assessed at the township average of $428,076 will pay $1,439 in municipal taxes this year, an increase of $29 from 2017 when the average home was assessed at $413,631.
The 2018 budget will be supported through the collection of $22.3 million in a local
tax levy to be paid by Manalapan’s residential and commercial property owners. The
township will receive $3.87 million in state aid and apply $3.67 million from its
surplus fund.
Chief Financial Officer Patricia Addario said the 2018 tax rate is estimated to be 33.6
cents per $100 of assessed valuation. She said that figure is subject to change upon a final certification from the assessor on or about May 5. The 2017 municipal tax rate was 34.1 cents per $100.
It is possible that some residents could see a decrease in their municipal taxes this year. For example, the owner of a home assessed at $250,000 will pay $840 in municipal taxes, a $13 decrease if his home was also assessed at $250,000 in 2017, and the owner of a home assessed at $600,000 will pay $2,016 in municipal taxes, a $30 decrease if his home was also assessed at $600,000 in 2017.
Township Administrator Tara Lovrich said 29 percent of residents will see no
increase in their municipal tax and 33 percent of residents will see an increase in
their municipal tax of $25 or less this year.
Taking the total average municipal tax bill of $1,439, Lovrich said $353 of that
amount pays for public safety; $202 pays for insurance/statutory; $193 pays for
utilities, sanitation and recycling; $133 pays for public works and park maintenance;
$114 pays for capital projects/debt; and $80 pays for general government, among
other expenditures.
Municipal taxes account for 17 percent of every tax dollar paid by a property owner
in Manalapan. Other taxes are paid to Monmouth County (15 percent), the
Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District (45 percent), the Freehold
Regional High School District (20 percent), a municipal fire district (2 percent) and
other assessments (1 percent), according to township officials.
Lovrich said Manalapan’s tax base is 91.37 percent residential and 7.42 percent
commercial. The township’s estimated population in 2016 was slightly more than
40,000 residents.
The budget was introduced in a 5-0 vote on March 28 with support from Mayor Jack McNaboe, Deputy Mayor Susan Cohen, Committeewoman Mary Ann Musich, Committeeman
David Kane and Committeeman Kevin Uniglicht.
“Every member of this committee looked at the budget and worked on it,” McNaboe
said. “Many tough decisions have to be made. … School security costs money,
maintaining the police department costs money. It’s a balancing act and I think this
is a responsible budget.”