Plainsboro is one of 80 towns in New Jersey that will receive extraordinary aid for property tax relief. The state has dedicated $150,”000 for the township to lessen the burden of this year’s hefty tax rate increase.##M:[more]##
The grant will lower the tax rate from 6.8 to 6.5 cents per $100 of assessed property value. The township had asked the state for $1.4 million. New Jersey’s entire extraordinary aid package was $1.5 million, distributed amongst the 80 towns in amounts ranging from $40,”000 to $500,”000.
“Most important to us is that we will now be able to adopt the budget. This part of the process is finished, allowing us to finalize the tax rate and keeping the township’s cash flow moving,” says township administrator Robert Sheehan.
The 20 percent-plus tax increase was due to a shortfall in revenue, not to an excess of spending. The township’s expenditures increased only 2.39 percent from last year. The loss of revenue in 2007 was due to lower construction fees, fewer municipal fines, and less hotel tax being collected. The township also sold a $600,”000 liquor license that boosted 2006 revenues.
It is still unclear whether the township will see a recovery in revenues in the current year, which could result in lower taxes next year. “We are watching those factors very closely,” said Sheehan. “The hotel tax looks as though it’s not coming along at levels that we had hoped, but other areas of revenue are looking good.”
