COURT HOUSE – The Township Committee has introduced its 2024 municipal budget, which calls for a 5.16% increase in the local purpose tax rate. For the owner of a property assessed at $275,000, the increase in the rate would mean paying an additional $80 in taxes this year.
The increase will be 2.9 cents per $100 of assessed value. The rate will move from $0.566 to $0.595.
The 2024 general purpose budget, introduced Monday, April 8, is set at $27.6 million, an increase in appropriations over 2023 of $419,873. The budget for the dedicated sewer utility is $5.9 million, which is an increase of $387,813.
Chief Financial Officer Neil Young pointed to the total budget of $33.5 million as up over 2023 by 2.4%, which is “under the current level of inflation.” Young identified other strengths in the budget, including a surplus that is the “highest we have ever had.” The township entered 2024 with a general fund surplus that is just under $4 million. Some $2.2 million of that surplus will be used to keep the tax rate lower than it otherwise would have been.
This is the second year in a row in which the township budget has called for a tax increase. Both Young and municipal auditor Leon Costello said the two budgets were very different in their levels of vulnerabilities. Young called the 2024 budget, even with its need for a tax hike, a more stable budget resting on stronger township finances than last year.
Young also spoke of a number of factors that are outside of the township’s control. He mentioned two consecutive years of significant growth in insurance fees, for both liability and health insurance. He also pointed to an increase in the debt service appropriation, saying that recent years have seen growth in interest rates.
The CFO said the township saw ratables growth of just over $40 million. Mayor Christopher Leusner said the township wants “responsible, smart growth.” He pointed to other areas of expected revenue growth, including a full year of the occupancy tax on short-term rentals and the municipal tax that will be collected when the INSA cannabis retail shop opens later this year.
Leusner referred to the recent decision by Inspira not to extend its contract for providing emergency medical services to the township as a “curveball” thrown into the budget process late in the game. He said the township was covered until after Labor Day, and he was confident a provider for the services would be located. He also said he felt sure whatever resolution the township arrived at for the services could be covered by the budget through the end of 2024.
The township is not in great shape with respect to its state budget caps. The cap bank, a form of emergency funding for years when unexpected pressures hit the budget process, was drained last year and needs to be rebuilt going forward.
The budget message from Leusner, Young and Costello was a positive one. In a difficult year in 2023, the township, they all agreed, improved its financial position. Costello called the 2024 document a much more “stable” budget than 2023.
A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for the Township Committee meeting on May 6.
Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
