Budget imbalances

This story, written by Staff Writer Joseph Harvie, will be running in tomorrow’s South Brunswick Post:

The Township Council could have a public hearing on the 2006 municipal budget at its meeting Tuesday if Extraordinary State Aid figures are released by then.

A 2006 budget hasn’t been adopted because the Township Council applied for $700,000 in Extraordinary Aid.

However, the state adopted its $30.8 budget on July 8, eight days after it was due on June 30, which delayed the release of Extraordinary Aid numbers for municipalities.

Sean Darcy, a spokesman for the state Department of Community Affairs, said municipalities should expect Extraordinary Aid figures soon.

Township Public Affairs Coordinator Ron Schmalz said the township will hold a public hearing on the budget if state aid figures are released in time.

He said that if figures aren’t released, the Township Council will vote on budget amendments that will allow the township to operate without a formal budget.

The delay in adoption has also delayed third-quarter tax bills, which are usually due on Aug. 1. Tax bills will not be mailed until the Township Council adopts its budget. Residents will have 45 days after they are mailed to pay.

The Township Council introduced a $43.68 million budget in March that was $280,000 more than last year’s $43.4 million spending plan.

If adopted, the municipal tax rate would increase by 8 cents, to 60 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Under that rate, the owner of a house assessed at the township average of $190,000 would pay $1,140 in municipal taxes, up $152 from the previous year.

The proposed plan does not include the $700,000 in Extraordinary State Aid. In order to apply for Extraordinary Aid, the township must use $4.3 million of its $4.7 million surplus, which it has done.

According to township Chief Financial Officer Joe Monzo, $385,485 represents one tax point in the township. That means $700,000 in Extraordinary Aid could mean a tax rate reduction of 1.82 cents.

Members of the council said that the budget was “a work in progress” and more cuts would be made before it is adopted.

I run the story in full to offer some context. What we are witnessing at the local level here in South Brunswick is similar to what has happened at the state level for too many years. The Township Council has been resorting to a series of one-shot approaches that have offset potential tax hikes in the past, but which are now coming due. This has left the township — considered one of the more affluent municipalities in the state — going to the state like a panhandler, hat in hand hoping for a couple of quarters in extraordinary aid to help it balance its budget without having to ask local taxpayers for too much cash. Only, the budget asks for a municipal tax hike of 11.9 percent after the state handout is included.

And it doesn’t take into account the difficult straits the township will find itself in next year as it scrambles to balance its budget without much of a surplus account or extraordinary aid.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet