While it may not have much impact on this year’s tax levy, the West Windsor Council has trimmed $800,000 from its capital projects in hopes of curtailing future debt.
After another round of lengthy discussions at the April 4 meeting, the council ultimately decided to reduce the capital budget by a total of $800,000 for 2011.
The budget was subsequently introduced on April 11 by a 4-0 vote, with Councilman Charles Morgan absent. A public hearing is scheduled for Monday, May 16.
Councilwoman Diane Ciccone suggested to move the replacement of the trailer in front of the municipal building — a project worth $650,000 — to another year as well as extend the Duck Pond Park final capital project another year. Instead of allocating $300,000 in 2011 for the Duck Pond Park project, council will spend $150,000 this year and $150,000 in 2012.
This brings the capital budget down to $3 million for 2011.
“The $800,000 was in the capital budget, so that doesn’t necessarily have a big impact on the operating budget because that is dollars that were spent by going out for debt,” explained Business Administrator Robert Hary. “What they did was cut some of our long-term debt, but it didn’t have a large impact on our operating budget this year.”
Meanwhile, the council also decided to further reduce the overtime for non-emergency services (services including police, fire, and snow removal) by 5 percent.
The tax rate has been reduced to a 2.4-cent increase per $100 of assessed value, and the tax levy increase has been reduced to about 4.8 percent, officials calculated. The owner of a house assessed at the township average of $527,376 will now see an increase of about $100 — down from $108 as originally projected.
The operating budget will be reduced by a total of $78,000 less than was originally presented to council in February. That includes the $60,000 from the budget that was cut last month because of a retirement in one of the township’s departments. This resulted in the reduction of one position in the township’s budget this year, and that the township will move someone in the clerk’s office over to another department to fill the gap.
That resulted in a reduction in $30,000 in salaries and wages. That was combined with savings from the elimination of the animal control officer, which saved the township costs associated with overtime, health insurance, social security tax, and salary for that position. The net savings was $85,000.
However, the township estimated its agreement with East Windsor for animal control services will cost the township about $33,000 — $25,000 of which was included in the budget. That brought the total savings down to $60,000. But the other reductions, including a reduction of over time for non-essential employees, bring the total cuts to $78,000.
Hary said the budget is within the state-mandated cap, and that officials are looking to plan for the next budget season. “We’re cognizant of the fact we’ve got to try to limit tax increases going forward,” he said. “That’s going to be a challenge. We’re a growing community, and we’re really nowhere near buildout. We have to approach our budgeting and our infrastructure differently than a community that is in or near buildout.”
Capital Improvements Ordinance. In other business during the April 11 meeting, the Township Council unanimously introduced a $1.95 million ordinance that would fund various capital improvements.
A large portion of the costs will go to making improvements to Alexander, Meadow, and North Post roads as well as Vaughn Drive and the adjoining intersections — for a total of $1.16 million. It will also fund $164,228 for work on Village Road (New, East, and West), Penn Lyle Road, Post Road, and adjoining intersections. The ordinance will also fund $626,000 of work on Princeton-Hightstown, Old Trenton, Edinburg, Rabbit Hill, and Southfield roads, as well as their adjoining intersections.
A public hearing is scheduled for Monday, May 16.
According to documents, the township already has all of the funding for the projects in a trust account.
Farm Leases. In other business during the April 4 meeting, the administration reported that it was able to negotiate a 20 percent increase in revenue in farm leases with farmers who rent farmland within the township. The council will vote on the lease agreements at an upcoming meeting.
