The Plainsboro Township Committee unanimously voted to introduce a $20.8 million municipal budget for 2008 during its March 12 meeting.##M:[more]##
Some 61 percent of this year’s proposed budget, which is up $1.3 million — or 6 percent — over last year’s, contains employee-related expenses, including salary and wage, health insurance, and pension costs. The increase in employee expenses is $726,”500, Township Administrator Robert Sheehan said.
About a $700,”000 increase in the amount to be raised through taxation is proposed this year, with a total $11.7 million tax levy. Township officials attributed half of the 1.9-cent increase in this year’s tax rate to a decrease in state aid this year. The new tax rate is 31.8 cents per $100, up from 29.9 cents the year before.
That translates into a tax increase of roughly $76 on a home with an assessed valuation of $400,”000.
“Annual state aid was reduced by $218,”679,” Sheehan told the committee. “This year, we’ll not have the $150,”000 extraordinary aid revenue that we had last year. So, in total on the state aid side, we are short $368,”679. This is the equivalent of one cent, almost exactly, on the tax rate.”
“In coming years, we are going to have to deal with relatively low levels of state aid,” Sheehan added.
Despite the loss in state aid, officials characterized the tax increase as modest, and boasted the large appropriation of surplus, which is anticipated at $3.3 million, up from $1.7 million in 2007.
“As we move into 2009 with a strong surplus, we have a budget this year that includes no large non-returning revenues, which will put us in good shape for next year,” Sheehan said. “We are also hopeful, given our development efforts, we will get to see the benefits of some projects like the (University Medical Center at Princeton) hospital project.”
Annual recurring revenues also increased, as revenues that decreased in 2006 bounced back, Sheehan said. “They include the hotel tax, which is up $528,”000, our interest on investments, which is up $185,”000, and municipal court fines, which are up $92,”000,” he said.
“The budget last year suffered from revenue issues, largely hotel tax revenue issues,” Sheehan said.
He and Township Chief Financial Officer Wendy Wulstein met with the Division of Taxation this year, and clarified a predictive revenue stream so the township is not at the mercy of its collection patterns, he said.
With regard to expenses, Sheehan said the budget includes a position in the Public Works Department for a machine operator/laborer. “The impact of this in 2008 will be minimal, since the start time for that position is adjusted for November 1.”
The budget also includes a temporary inspector of code enforcement in anticipation of demands from the Novo Nordisk construction project and possibly the hospital, Sheehan said, and the new executive assistant to the mayor position — filled by former Township Clerk Pat Hullfish — which is a part-time position. In 2007, full-time staff was reduced by one position through attrition.
In the area of capital improvements, the budget includes $675,”000 for road repaving and $20,”000 for “micro surfacing.” Sheehan told the committee that discussions took place about the need to invest in preventative and proactive measures for road maintenance that will hopefully stall the need for larger investments in the future.
The budget “maintains a strong financial position of the township and continues our commitment to manage the tax rate,” Sheehan said. “It prepares us to deal with what may be a very significant increase in new inspection activities with several important and very large projects” that are coming up, he added.
Mayor Peter Cantu said he thought the budget reflected a better financial position than the township has been in over the last several years, and the tax increase “would have been a lot less if we had not lost the full penny in available state aid.”
He did say the “luxurious level of reserve” appropriated in the budget would help Plainsboro as it looks to position itself well in the future.
A public hearing on the proposed budget is scheduled for Wednesday, April 23.
Earlier in the March 12 meeting, the Plainsboro Township Committee also heard an update from engineer Lou Ploskonka, who highlighted the list of capital improvement projects to be undertaken in 2008.
Those projects include the Scudder’s Mill Road and Dey Road intersection improvement project. Ploskonka said all the storm drains and sidewalks are complete, and that the underground signals should be completed by mid-April. Workers will be shifting traffic around so they can do the work on the actual roadway, Ploskonka said. “By the end of May, we anticipate that the lane shifting work will be done and a new signal will be in place.” All of the work should be completed by mid-June, and the cleanup work should be finished by the end of July, he said.
The Community Park improvements, which include lighting and the construction of a picnic area near the entrance of Scotts Corner Road, should be completed by July, 2008, as well, Ploskonka said.
The third project slated for this year is the Plainsboro Road resurfacing from Dey Road to Enterprise Drive. It also includes a new sidewalk on the municipal complex side connecting up to the intersection, and a crosswalk improvement at Fox Run. The township received a $250,”000 grant from the state Department of Transportation for this project in December.
Improvements will be made on Mapleton Road from Route 1 to the South Brunswick border. The road sections will include two 11-foot lanes and two bike lanes on each side of the road. Workers will lift the road as high as they can and install a new storm sewer to prevent some of the flooding that occurs, as the road sits in the Millstone River floodway. THis project is being fully funded by the county.
Other improvement projects included George Davidson Road — which requires an interlocal agreement with Cranbury, as the road lies on the border between the two towns — and the second phase of the Plainsboro Road traffic calming.
