Budget Vote Postponed

The absence of two Township Committee members forced the postponement of Wednesday's scheduled vote on the $34 million 2012 budget.

Committeeman George Newberry and Deputy Mayor Todd Luttman were absent from Wednesday's meeting. The state law that created the township's form of government requires that the budget be passed by a supermajority, or four of the committee's five votes. With only three members present, the vote was postponed until the April 25 meeting.

The local tax bill will cost homeowners an average of nearly $58 more in 2012 under the Township Committee’s new spending plan.

The $34,828,782.70 budget is $128,459.61 less than last year’s $34,957,242.31 spending plan, a decrease of about .37 percent. 

The 2012 budget is supported by a $25,118,751.23 tax levy, up from last year’s $24,657,924 tax burden, an increase of $460,826.82 or about 1.87 percent.

The new tax rate of 67.3 cents for each $100 of property value is 1.9 cents higher than the 2011 rate of 65.4 for each $100, an increase of 2.91 percent.

On a home assessed at $304,000 – the township average – the municipal tax bill will be about $2,045.92 under the proposed spending plan. That’s an increase of $57.76 from last year’s $1,988.16 bill.

The municipal tax bill is only one portion of the overall tax burden, which also includes school district, county and fire district taxes.

Township committee members were quick to point out that the size and cost of municipal government has shrunk under the proposed spending plan.

“We have contained the employee cost,’’ Committeeman Clinton Hoffman has said. “Salary and wages have gone down.’’