Preliminary Lower Township Budget Shows 1.5 Cent Tax Increase

VILLAS — Lower Township’s preliminary budget for 2010 shows an increase in the local purpose tax rate of 1.5 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Adding the proposed 1.5 cents to last year’s local purpose tax rate of 36.7 cents would increase it to 38.2 cents per $100 of assessed value. The owner of a $200,000 home would pay $764 or an increase of $30 over last year.
The total budget is $24.6 million. The amount to be raised by taxes is $18.2 million compared to $17.2 million in 2009, an increase of $1,082,473.80 or just over 6 percent.
According to Township Manager Kathy McPherson, the township’s tax collection rate in 2009 was 97.71% compared to 98.09% in 2008. The decrease in collection rate will increase the amount kept in reserve for uncollected taxes this year, she said.
Salaries and wages only increased by 1.72% due to the elimination of the assistant public works superintendent position, one full time recreation aide and three police positions.
Last year, Mayor Michael Beck proposed not replacing two retiring police sergeants.
The plumbing inspector position was reduced from full time to part time.
Contribution to employee pensions increased $298,911, an increase of 27.77%. The township has 128 employees in the Public Employees Retirement System at a cost of $4,137.95 per employee and 43 employees in Police and Fire Retirement System at a cost of $19,667.81 per employee.
State health benefits increased 16.28%. The increase to the budget is only 3 percent because the township reduced the cost last year by switching to the state plan in April.
The proposed budget uses the same amount of state aid as last year, however, all indications are that state aid will be reduced this year. The impact on the budget will be determined by the percentage amount of state aid.
The property reassessment is on schedule and notices will be mailed out by the middle of February.
McPherson said she anticipates council will introduce the budget on April 5 and adopt it on May 3. This is only the preliminary budget and there will be additional changes before introduction, she said.