Stone Harbor Budget Projects 1.3 Cent Tax Increase

STONE HARBOR- A $13.3-million municipal budget was presented at the Tue.,Feb. 21 Borough Council meeting.
It will be formally introduced at the governing body’s March 6 meeting at 4:30 p.m. in Borough Hall, 9508 2nd Ave.
The spending plan, in the making since October 2011, reflects “decreases in major line items including administration-finance, health insurance and public safety,” according to a release.
Should the budget, as introduced, be passed after publication and public hearing, the local tax rate would increase to 49.2 cents per $100 of assessed value, an increase from the 2011 rate of 47.9 cents.
The amount to be raised by taxation is $9.55 million.
On the revenue side, the borough is anticipating $340,000 in parking meter revenue, $10,000 less than in 2011.
The borough also expects $10,000 less interest on investments, and $26,000 less in court fines and costs, $74,000 as compared to $100,000 anticipated in 2011.
Also expected to bring in less is the municipal marina, believed to bring in $4,500, while $4,696 was realized to date.
The spending plan applies $925,000 of surplus, just under 50 percent of $1.86 million surplus. The council has long sought to use less than half of available surplus to offset any tax increase.
It has used less than half in 2008, last year and this year. It used slightly over half of its surplus in 2009 and 2010, according to figures on the borough website.
On the upside, Uniform Construction Code fees are expected to bring in $275,000 or $10,000 more than last year’s amount. The beach concession is also expected to produce $40,000 or $2,000 more than the previous year.
Reserve for uncollected taxes is $430,000, $28,264 more than in 2011, a 7 percent difference.
Reductions in expenses total $175,797. That allows a partial offset of $661,544 in debt service obligations for the year.
This will be the third consecutive year that the borough will need a small tax rate increase, less than two cents. The budget will allow the municipality to maintain the level of services that residents expect and will help to finance various capital improvement projects.
Among decreases in budget are:
*Administration-Finance, 5 percent.
*Public safety, 0.7 percent.
*Beach, recreation and tourism, 0.3 percent.
*Unclassified expenses, 7 percent.
The budget also includes funding for capital improvements. They include a trash packer, dump truck, four-wheel-drive trucks, recreation and firehouse building renovations, a 9-1-1 system, parking meters, radios, telephone system and bird sanctuary.
For information, a PowerPoint presentation of the entire budget is available at the borough website: www.stone-harbor.nj.us
Stone Harbor’s firehouse and Bird Sanctuary are included in the 2012
$13.3-million budget for capital improvements.