By Frank Mustac, Special Writer
A proposed $3.6 million municipal budget for 2016 would raise the tax rate to pay for borough government expenses by 1.6 cents.
The municipal budget does not include county or school taxes.
The proposed tax rate in 2016 is 53.6 cents per $100 of assessed property value, which is a 3.1 percent increase above last year’s rate of 52 cents.
The change in the rate means that the property tax bill for municipal spending charged to owners of the average assessed home in town will be about $65 more than last year, according to Borough Administrator Michele Hovan.
In Hopewell Borough for 2016, the tax bill for municipal services for the average assessed home — valued at about $406,000 — is estimated to be $2,177. Last year, the bill for the same house would have been $2,112.
A public hearing on the budget will be held at the May 5 Borough Council meeting. Council members will vote on adoption of the spending plan following the public hearing.
In 2015, the municipal budget was $3,352,277, so the proposed 2016 budget of $3,647,352 is 8.8 percent higher than a year ago.
The tax levy for municipal purposes for 2016, meaning the total taxes that all property owners will pay combined, is about $1,701,529 – up 2.82 percent from last year.
There are 777 taxable properties in Hopewell Borough, as of Oct. 1. The total assessed value of all those properties combined is about $318,551,155.
Ms. Hovan spoke at the Borough Council meeting on April 7 comparing the proposed 2016 budget to last year’s municipal budget.
“It was essentially a flat budget in 2015,” she said, adding that the 2016 budget is “nominally more.”
The proposed 2016 budget, Ms. Hovan said, contains no new programs or new services.
“We’re holding steady,” she said. “We are funding our priorities.”
