73 Line Items Frozen or Reduced in Town Budget

The introduced a budget Tuesday night that cuts spending by more than $1.6 million, nearly 6 percent, while raising property taxes 2 percent.

To fund the $26,521,439 budget, property taxes on an average township home assessed at about $370,000 will increase by $26. The municipal use tax rate will rise from 30.2 cents per $100 of assessed property in 2011 to 30.9 cents.

The township is still feeling the impact of $1.4 million decrease in state aid since 2007. The township is also experiencing an $162,000 decline in non-tax revenue—such as municipal court fines and construction fees—because of the economic downtown, Nancy Haberle, the township’s chief financial officer, said at Tuesday’s meeting.

To keep the tax hike at a minimum, the township committee has frozen or reduced 73 line items in the budget, Haberle said.

The township has also reduced the number of full-time employees to 149, an 8 percent decrease in the last five years, she said.

Other areas of savings included increased employee contributions, reduced snow removal costs, and reductions in pension contributions, bond interest, cxapital improvements and debt payments.

“Thank God it didn’t snow this year,” Committeewoman Gloria McCauley joked.

The increased employee contribution for insurance premiums saved taxpayers $140,000, Haberle said. That contribution is expected to increase in the next few years, she added.

“The employees have taken a hard line in reducing spending and protecting taxpayers,” Mayor Carl Suraci said.

Another cost savings in the shared municipal court initiative with neighboring Montgomery, Haberle said. That will result in savings of $82,000.

The township committee also agreed to re-finance an outstanding 2001 bond to take advantage of historically low interest rates that will save the township $769,000 over the next nine years.

”It’s a no-brainer,” said Committeeman Frank DelCore, chairman of the Finance Committee. “That really aided in the budget process.”

DelCore also thanked municipal employees for contributing to the reduced budget. “It goes a long way,” he said, adding that while the number of employees have been reduced by attrition and retirement, the level of service has been maintained.

“It’s a testament to our employees,” he said.

“We are definitely doing more with less and managing the budget prudently by not taking advantage of any tax cap loopholes that would negative impact our taxpayers,” DelCore said. “This budget is quite an accomplishment.”

“This is an amazing budget,” Suraci said, adding that the township committee is committed to reducing the debt incurred by past administrations and “ensuring accountability” in municipal departments.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for April 24. The budget will be posted on the township’s website.