Committee Adopts Budget With Tax Increase

The township Committee passed the municipal budget that will raise taxes by $63.24 for the year for the average Lacey homeowner unanimously.

“I very reluctantly vote yes for the budget,” Committeewoman Helen DelaCruz said. “It is very hard for us, I know, to raise taxes because I know how many people out there are hurting. But you see, we have to keep our services going.”

The governing body is raising $9,767,233.13 via taxation. The average homeowner, with property assessed at $317,924, will pay $5.27 more a month or $63.24 per year.

“I have some frustrations about where we are right now,” Committeeman Sean Sharkey said. “I’m not happy with any tax increase and I don’t think anyone should be. I’m not proud of any tax increase but was are working very diligently to make sure the impact is as little as possible for everybody in this town.”

Throughout the budget process, the committee went line item by line item in attempt to make cuts, he said.

The committee saved $22,000 in budget cuts. In addition to basic line item cuts, the township turned down approximately $200,000 in requested promotions and cut $160,000 in health benefits, $90,000 in gasoline and another $90,000 in recycling line items.

DelaCruz also chose to give back her salary, which amounts to $7,020, as a committeewoman. The funds will go into surplus for next year.

“I would like to see that dollar amount that you’re forgoing lapse to surplus, to replenish the surplus, so that we can build on our surplus for next year,” Fanning said.

Sharkey pointed out that a large cost in this year’s budget was the repayment of furloughs.

During the fall of 2011, the township faced a legal battle against two local unions after the Committee served 22 furlough days to employees in 2010. The Teamsters Union Local 97 won through arbitration, and the Communications Workers of America Local 1088 reached a settlement agreement with the township, forcing the  in the amount of $218,250.

Mayor Mark Dykoff said the township negotiated in “good faith” and thought they followed the proper procedures. Unfortunately the township was wrong, he said, but it’s moving forward.

The Committee can only control municipal taxes, DelaCruz said. Both county and school taxes have increased as well. For each dollar residents pay, 14 cents goes towards the township, 63 cents to the school district and 23 cents to the county.

“We can’t control what the county does. We can’t control what the school does but we can work towards what the municipal government does,” Sharkey said. “I think all of us have worked very hard to reduce the amount of tax burden for everybody.”

Moving forward, the local government may have to make some radical changes in the near future, Sharkey said. “We have exhausted, in my opinion, every last option.”

Sharkey is looking into a number of different options available to help reduce costs to the township, he said.

This was the second year that the township passed the budget with a bipartisan committee, Dykoff said.

“I’m happy to see we were able to pass the budget 5-0,” he said. “I’m happy to see we were able to pass the budget in a timely manner unlike past years…I think we did a good job working together.”

Richard Suth of Forked River said the tax increase is minimal. He has another home in Ocean County and taxes have gone up almost four times as much.

“That has got to be the cheapest in the state of New Jersey,” Suth said. “You are running a very efficient government here even being shorthanded.”

Summary of Revenues and Appropriations:

General Revenues:

            Surplus Anticipated- $3,600,000

            Miscellaneous Revenues Anticipated- $12,632.938.72

            Receipts from Delinquent Taxes- $525,000

Amount to be Raised by Taxation for Municipal Purposes- $9,767,233.13

Amount to be Raised by Taxation- Minimum Library Levy:

            Total Revenues- $26,525,171.85

General Appropriations:

            Operations Including Contingent- $19,777,795

            Deferred Charges and Statutory Expenditures- $2,455,686

            Operations- Total Operations Excluded from CAPS- $709,232.12

            Capital Improvements- $40,000

            Municipal Debt Service- $1,789,658

            Deferred Charges- Municipal- $398,250

            Reserve for Uncollected Taxes- $1,354,550.73

Total General Appropriations- $26,525,171.85