The West Windsor Township Council has introduced its $37 million budget, but not everyone is optimistic about its much lower 1.4-cent tax rate increase.
The budget, introduced on May 28 by a 4-1 vote, with Councilman Charles Morgan dissenting, includes the use of $600,000 in funds received from the sale of two liquor licenses in this year’s budget. The revenue was originally to be used municipal building renovations but will now be used to offset taxes.
The idea was proposed in the 11th-hour by Council President George Borek as a way to build consensus on the council, which had struggled for more than two months to find ways to limit the impact on taxpayers.
All together, the council cut $800,000 from the budget. The first part of savings came from about $200,000 in cuts to overtime and nonessential part-time staff. The second part of the savings came from the $600,000 taken from $1.3 million in liquor license sales this year. The cuts were approved 4-1 prior to the special session on May 28 specifically for introduction of the budget.
A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Monday, June 28.
The $1.3 million in revenue from the liquor licenses was originally to be used for renovating the an office trailer attached to the municipal building that houses the Health, Recreation, and Emergency Services departments.
Under the proposed budget, this year’s tax rate would increase by 1.4 cents to 34.5 cents per $100 of assessed value over last year. That translates into a municipal tax bill of $1,845 for the owner of a home assessed at the township average of $534,782 — an $75 increase.
Of the $37 million budget, $20.97 million is expected to be raised through taxation, an increase of 1.9 percent. The rest comes from township revenues.
However, Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh said that prior to the introduction of the budget, he had supported the idea of using half ($300,000) of what was ultimately taken from the liquor license revenue — but no more — for a total tax rate increase of 1.9 cents.
“The township will only be allowed next year to go up by half a million dollars,” said Hsueh, referring to Governor Chris Christie’s proposed 2.5 percent cap on property tax increases next year. Taking $300,000 and “assuming the economy will come back is a good assumption,” Hsueh said. “But $600,000 is definitely going to create more problems. The population in West Windsor continues to grow.”
Hsueh acknowledged that the council makes the ultimate decision, but said council members need to be aware of the 2.5 percent cap, which will put a serious strain on township services if the township is only allowed to increase the budget by half a million dollars over the prior year. Having a slightly higher budget this year will allow for a larger dollar amount in next year’s budget.
“Even though it’s not official, I’m pretty sure it’s going to get passed,” Hsueh added. “I think the assumption the council is making is that it’s a bad economic year, and next year the economy will come back. That is a very optimistic view. I think we all want the economy to come back next year. It’s going to take a longer time. Even though it’s moving in the right direction, it doesn’t mean it’s going to come back right away.”
He pointed to services, like garbage collection, that may be on the chopping block. The township pays what averages out to be about $172 per household in garbage collection. If the township cuts the services in next year’s budget, residents will have to pay anywhere from $300 to $500 privately for the collection, Hsueh said.
Currently, the township is already receiving complaints from residents about the reduction in leaf and brush collection. But the township is only using overtime for occasions including public safety issues.
Others have complained of similar situations. At the June 1 council meeting, resident Guy Pierson asked the council to do something about the tall grass on the Route 1 frontage in the West Windsor portion of the road — a safety hazard, he said.
Hsueh said that while it is a state road, and state crews are responsible for maintenance, township employees used to maintain the areas when the state could not get to it in a timely fashion, but not anymore. “We have to be more selective.” said Hsueh. “It’s a tough time.”
But the council should look at long-term planning so more services will not have to be cut in the future. He referred to the $619,620 the township lost in revenue from the Energy Tax Receipts Property Tax Relief program, which was cut by the state for 2010. “Next year, we have no idea whether the state will impose more requirements that we have to pay for,” he said. “I tried to push for the zero percent increase, but there are too many parameters that we have to deal with.”
Morgan, who has advocated dipping further into the surplus to reduce taxes, voted against Borek’s proposal and also voted against introduction on May 28.
The council had struggled since March to cut down the originally proposed $37.1 million package. That plan called for a 5.8 percent tax levy increase, which would have meant an increase of $139 on the average tax bill.
Having already called for the use of $200,000 more in surplus than it did last year — for a total of $4.4 million being used from surplus to offset taxes — the council wanted to avoid dipping further into the surplus for tax relief, as Morgan had proposed.
