VILLAS – The Lower Township Council submitted the audit of its 2021 finances to the state Local Finance Board (LFB) Aug. 15. The finances are prepared by the accounting firm Ford, Scott & Associates, who say everything is in order. They told the LFB they have “No Comments or Recommendations.”
Township Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Lauren Read gave a lot of credit to her staff in the Finance Department, as well as to other department heads.
“I’m happy to have a good team. We’ve worked together for years and I’m grateful to have them doing the great job they do,” Read said. “That extends to the department heads as well. It’s definitely a team effort.”
Township Manager Michael Laffey commended Read, saying an audit with no comments or recommendations means the CFO handles the township finances well.
Council also authorized the payment of $3.6 million to Cape May County to cover its third-quarter taxes Aug. 15. The township is slated to pay over $12 million to the county in 2022 to cover its obligation to pay county purpose tax, the library tax and the open space tax.
Of the total taxes collected by the township, about 18 percent is collected on behalf of Cape May County. Lower Township will collect over $66 million in taxes in 2022.
“We’ve really got a great track record of how we keep track of everything. We are mindful of how we spend tax dollars,” Laffey said.
