Taxes Up Slightly In Municipal Budget

Wall Township residents will pay about $57 more in municipal taxes next year if the $35 million budget introduced by the Wall Township Committee on Wednesday is adopted.

The committee voted 5-0 to introduce the $35,179,494 2014 spending plan, which is up $340,029 or just less than 1 percent from last year’s $34,839,465 budget.

The budget is supported by a $25,647,900 tax levy and comes with a 1.9-cent tax rate increase for each $100 of assessed property value.

On a home assessed at $302,000 – the township average – the municipal portion of the tax bill would come to about $2,087, up from about $2,029 last year, an increase of 2.83 percent.

Municipal taxes are just one portion of the overall tax bill, which also includes county, school and fire district taxes, among others.

The budget will have a public hearing on April 24, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at town hall, 2700 Allaire Road.

Township Administrator Jeffry Bertrand gave a short overview of the budget process, which he said was focused on maintaining services while minimizing the tax impact on residents.

But a dip in the tax collection for the past year put a crimp in those plans, he said. The tax collection rate – the number of residents or businesses paying taxes on time – dropped to 97.33 percent. It normally hovers around 98 percent, Bertrand said.

For the third consecutive year, the township lost significant tax ratables – residents or businesses that moved out or closed up shop. This year, that was a $192,000 hit to the budget, Bertand said.