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Budget is increased by 5.4 percent
(by Lisa Kintish - April 30, 2008)
The Montville Township Committee approved the introduction of the 2008 municipal budget during its April 22 meeting. Up 5.4 percent over last year, the budget reflects pension increases and state funding reductions.
Deputy Mayor James Sandham reported that those two factors account for 4.1 percent of the increase. The impact to the average homeowner is approximately $100.
As previously reported by this paper, under the proposed budget presented by Governor Jon Corzine, Montville Township’s allocations will be cut by $231,887 from last year.
Municipal salaries are increasing by 2.5 percent and other operating expenses are “slightly” decreased, according to Sandham.
He reported to Neighbor News, “I think our department heads, CFO, and Township Administrator did a fine job in reducing the number of positions, finding other cost savings, and delivering a frugal budget for our citizens and Township Committee.”
He continued, “We would have liked to anticipate employee raises at historical levels (four percent), but this Township Committee recognized the need to cut back and started with lower department head raises back in 2006. We have now planned for lower percentage increases across most employee groups… We all certainly need to convey our appreciation to the department heads, white collar, blue collar, police and all township employees for the hard work they perform every day and for their cooperation during these tough times.”
Sandham noted that Montville has reduced its total municipal debt by over 10 percent from the end of 2005 - from over $75 million to under $68 million - and expects to reduce it another $2-3 million this year.
“We did that by prioritizing our capital spending and finding alternative sources of funding. A great example is the new Fifth Base concession stand at our Municipal Field. The Township partnered with the Montville Baseball/Softball Association to split the cost evenly, then managed the project well to deliver a beautiful new facility below budget. That saved our taxpayers about $150,000 of capital spending.”
The Municipal Tax accounts for a little less than 20 percent of the total tax bill. The remainder is Board of Education (about 65 percent) and County and Open Space.
As for Open Space, the Morris County Board of Freeholders is proposing to lower the County’s Open Space tax by approximately a half cent per $100 of assessed valuation. This presented an opportunity to Montville Township to raise its Open Space tax by $.01 per $100 assessed valuation, as Sandham noted, “keeping the tax rate close to even for residents while keeping the tax revenues closer to home and reducing the deficit in the [Township’s Open Space] Trust.”
According to figures supplied by Mayor Deborah Nielson, the money generated from this will be $1.7 million annually. For the average home assessed at $330,000, the tax is $33.30. Currently, the local open space tax generates $1,381,535 annually and the balance in the account is approximately $900,000, with an existing debt service for properties already purchased at $1,655,613 per year.
Nielson stated that the debt includes 65 acres behind Barry’s Pharmacy on Changebridge Road and a 113 acre Camp Dawson tract on Jackaonville Road, among others. She noted that since the inception of the township’s Open Space program in 1990, over 1,050 acres have been acquired. Approximately 315 acres were acquired prior to 1990.
It is estimated that the Open Space account will be in the “red” by 2011 and by the year, 2024, the account is projected to be $6.7 million in the “red” if current conditions continue. The Township Committee is examining alternatives to alleviate the situation.
Without the increase in the Open Space tax, “the township must utilize general receipts to satisfy the existing debt service, and there are no Open Space monies available for additional Open Space purchases,” said Nielson.
She further noted, “This action alone will not fully fund the Open Space account. Additional future increases may be needed to further supplement the Open Space program. This topic will be revisited in 2009 with recommendations and input from both the Open Space Committee and Long Term Financial Committee. The township is aggressive in pursuing alternate sources of funding outside the municipality for Open Space purchases. Over the years, they have received several million dollars in grants through partnerships with Morris County, NJ Green Acres, US Army Corps of Engineers, Morris County MUA, and Morris Land Conservancy to name a few.”
There will be a public hearing on the municipal budget during the May 27 Township Committee. Residents who wish to obtain a copy of the proposed budget should contact the Township Clerk at 973-331-3304 or by mail, 195 Changebridge Road, Montville, NJ 07045.
Lisa Kintish can be contacted at kintish@northjersey.com.
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