CRANBURY: Mayor pushes for no tax rate hike

[Guest]

CRANBURY — Mayor Win Cody offered a presentation on this year’s proposed budget during a special workshop session of the Township Committee on Monday.

At the last meeting Feb. 28, Mayor Cody said the committee owes it to the public to explain the numbers in the budget, show a budget history of the past 10 years and show what numbers the entire committee agrees upon as well as those numbers it disagrees upon.

The proposed total budget is $10,811,557 with $9.9 million of actual expenditures. It recommends using $1.7 million of the township’s $4.9 million of surplus and has a debt service of $2,149,726.

This budget would raise taxes from 37.5 cents to 39.5 cents per $100 of assessed value. An owner of a house assessed at the average of $608,299 would pay $2,403 per year in taxes if the budget is passed. Last year, the same owner paid $2,315 when the average house was assessed at $617,439.

Due to a possible 4-cent school tax rate increase, the average taxpayer in Cranbury may be looking at a $500 total tax increase this year if the current proposed budget is passed. The municipal budget can be amended at the next meeting March 28.
Mayor Cody had recommendations on how to amend it. In his presentation, he recommended a total budget of about $10.3 million with the same amount of actual expenditures, $9.9 million. He recommends paying off $1.9 million of the township’s approximately $23 million in debt, and said this will leave the township with a surplus of $4.5 million at the end of the year while keeping the tax rate flat at 37.5 cents.

The rest of the committee disagreed with some of his projections, and this led to a deeper review of the numbers.

In 2007 a penny of taxes raised about $185,000, and this year, a penny raises about $160,000, due to a decrease in property value, the committee said.

Also in 2007, state aid amounted to about $700,000, and this year it is proposed at $467,020. The committee actually isn’t certain if it will receive the state aid money proposed.

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