MIDDLETOWN – The Township Committee has adopted an $88.73 million budget to fund the operation of Middletown during 2022.
The budget was adopted during a meeting on April 18. No one from the public commented on the budget when given the opportunity to do so.
According to municipal officials, Middletown’s residential and commercial property owners will pay local taxes totaling $62.12 million to support this year’s $88.73 million spending plan. The tax levy includes $57.95 million to support municipal operations and $4.15 million to support the local library.
An appropriation of $10.7 million from the township’s surplus fund (savings), plus state aid and revenue from other sources will fund the balance of the appropriations.
Salaries and wages that total $29.44 million account for the largest amount of municipal funding, at 33.19% of the budget, according to Chief Financial Officer Colleen Lapp.
Middletown’s 2021 municipal budget had appropriations totaling $84.4 million. Residential and commercial property owners paid $55.75 million to support municipal operations and $3.91 million to support the local library, for a total tax levy of $59.66 million.
From 2021 to 2022, total appropriations have increased by $4.33 million and the total tax levy has increased by $2.46 million.
In 2021, the municipal tax rate was 46.7 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The average home in Middletown was assessed at $467,271 and the owner of that home paid about $2,182 in municipal taxes.
In 2022, the municipal tax rate is projected to be 42.9 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The average home in Middletown is now assessed at $530,214, which reflects an increase in home values in the local real estate market, according to municipal officials. The owner of that home will pay about $2,275 in municipal taxes.
Municipal taxes are one item on a property owner’s tax bill. Property owners also pay Middletown Township Public Schools taxes and Monmouth County taxes.
The amount an individual pays in property taxes is determined by the assessed value of his home and/or property, and the tax rate that is set by each taxing entity.
Lapp has said for each $1 in taxes that is paid by a property owner in Middletown, 62 cents goes to the school district, 23 cents goes to the municipality, 11 cents goes to the county, 2 cents goes to the Middletown library and 2 cents goes to open space.
Mayor Tony Perry previously said Middletown is now being charged extra fees for services such as deliveries. He said the additional fees reflect higher fuel costs being paid by the companies that make deliveries (i.e., package delivery companies, stationary delivery companies).
Selected appropriations in the 2022 municipal budget include the following: group insurance benefits, $8.92 million; police salaries and wages, $13.78 million; solid waste and recycling, $8.3 million; payment to Public Employees’ Retirement System, $1.6 million; payment Social Security System, $1.25 million; payment to Police and Firemen’s Retirement System of New Jersey, $4.42 million; payment of bond principal, $3.65 million; and interest on bonds, $1.5 million.