Politics & Government

Police and Emergency Services to Present Budget Figures Thursday

The Committee has confirmed that the township will be hiring four new police officers this year

The Police Department and emergency services will make their 2013-14 budget requests to the township Committee at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Lacey residents can expect to see a municipal tax increase within the confines of the state-mandated cap, Mayor David Most said after the township’s first budget meeting of the year.

Budget numbers were not available at that meeting as the township is just in the beginning stages of preparing its 2013-14 budget.

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At that time Most could not say what the township’s exact shortfall is but said an increase in cost for medial insurance, the expenses incurred due to Hurricane Sandy and tax appeals will have the greatest impact on this year’s budget process.

Tax appeals will cost the township $481,000 this year, Chief Financial Officer Adrian Fanning previously said.

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“That means there’s $481,000 that we don’t have in our surplus account that will have to be made up in some fashion,” he said.

At the end of 2012, surplus was at $2.9 million, comparable to previous years, Fanning said.

State aid has also remained flat, Most said. In 2012, the township received $11,273,840 towards the budget.

The township is facing a 16 percent increase in health benefit costs, Fanning said.

Lacey left the state health benefits program two years ago. Had they remained in the program, the cost would have increased by 21.5 percent or $180,000.

“We’ve been working on this for years as far as cutting budgets,” Most said.

Aside from the police department, Department of Public Works and emergency services, figures from the other departments remain flat, Most said. Increases have been offset by attrition.

“We tried cutting those down last year,” Committeeman Sean Sharkey previously said.

In the past, each department has presented its figures and requests but because most remain flat, the Committee is only asking for the emergency services and police and public works departments to attend its workshop meetings.

Thursday the police department and emergency services will present their budget figures and capital requests. Most did not previously provide insight into proposed requests and capital projects.

But the Committee has noted that they intend to hire four new police officers this year.

Return to Lacey Patch Friday for a story on the budget workshop meeting.


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