Lower Council Trims Tax Rate Hike to One Cent

VILLAS — Lower Township Council amended its proposed township budget Monday to reduce a proposed tax increase from 1.7 cents per $100 of assessed property value to one cent.
If adopted, that would mean a local purpose rate of 44.3 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Mayor Michael Beck said the township had a dedicated fund to pay accumulated leave time to retiring police officers. He asked Auditor Leon Costello if it would be possible to use some of those funds to reduce the tax rate.
Beck said $900,000 had been put aside to cover a large number of police officers retiring in the same year. He said the township did not need to use the entire $900,000 this year and asked to apply $180,000 to the township budget.
Costello said it was possible to anticipate as revenue some money from the terminal leave trust fund into the township’s budget to offset what is being paid in terminal leave. He said there was $900,000 reserved for terminal leave plus $481,000 in a trust fund.
Last year, council appropriated $944,000 for trash tipping fees at the landfill but only expended $743,000. Chief Financial Officer Lauren Read said part of the savings was an offset by two grants the township received totaling $84,000.
Beck noted the township was no longer picking up trash from businesses, which generated over $130,000 in tipping fees. Read said the township actually expended $827,000 in tipping fees.
Beck suggested applying $50,000 from the tipping fees line item to reduce the tax increase.
The mayor asked if the reserve for uncollected taxes could be changed. Read said normally 1 to 2 percent remains in the fund after taxes are collected.
Council agreed to use an additional $40,000 from the surplus fund and $112,000 from the reserve for uncollected taxes. A resolution was already on the agenda to reduce $45,000 to three fire districts and apply that to the township budget.
Deputy Mayor Kevin Lare asked that overtime for police and Department of Public Works be reduced for a total savings of $50,000. He asked council to postpone adoption of the budget until its May 2 meeting. He noted the township had two expired collective bargaining agreements plus a Policeman’s Benevolent Association contract that Lower Township police have opened for renegotiation.
Lare said there was the potential those contracts could impact this year’s budget.
“Let’s put a full court press on all three of those contracts and see if we can get them wrapped up by that time,” he said.
He complained Lower Township Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) had an $8-million budget with $4 million in surplus. Last month, Township Council asked the MUA for $163,000 to be applied to the township budget.
Lower Township MUA Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 at a March 25 special meeting, not to give Lower Township $163,000 of its surplus funds.
At that meeting, MUA Board Chairman Nels Johnson named upcoming projects that could require the utility’s surplus funds including $450,000 to replace antiquated water meters, $300,000 to paint the Scott Avenue water tower, $300,000 to install additional valves and $380,000 to upgrade 27 sewage pumping stations.