Tax hike at 5.5¢ ... for now

Tax hike at 5.5¢
... for now

SPOTSWOOD — Though the borough’s municipal budget is yet to be adopted in its final form, residents can expect to be receiving estimated property tax bills from the borough this summer.

The Borough Council is still awaiting word from the state on whether it will receive the $210,000 it requested in the form of extraordinary state aid, according to Borough Business Administrator Jacqueline Ascione. The 2002 budget cannot be finalized until the borough finds out how much, if any, of the aid it will get.

Regardless, the tax bills will be sent out according to the regular schedule in July. Ascione said the bills will assume the municipal tax rate is increasing by 5.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. That number is based on the borough receiving $170,000 of the extraordinary aid, the same amount it received last year.

The 2002 budget stands at $6,151,845.

If the tax rate changes based on the amount of aid given, the fourth-quarter tax bills will be adjusted to show the difference — whether taxes must be increased or decreased, she said.

With the tight budget constraints in Trenton this year, borough officials are aware there is a chance they will see a decrease in extraordinary aid from last year.

"I don’t think they will take the whole $170,000 away," Mayor Barry Zagnit said however. "We might see a reduction, but I don’t think we’ll see a complete loss."

In light of the emergency improvements needed for Spotswood’s water system, the council applied for $40,000 more in extraordinary aid than it received last year. Zagnit said that if the borough receives the entire amount, it could, "in theory," lower the tax increase.

By the same token, the council will do its best to avoid making the tax increase any higher if it does not receive the expected amount, the mayor said.

"Obviously, we’re anticipating that aid in this budget. We’re allowed by law to do that," he said. "If we lose it, we have to first go back to the budget and look to see what severe cuts we could make. If we couldn’t cut enough, it would impact taxpayers."

Zagnit would not say at what point a shortfall would result in an increase in taxes rather than cuts in the budget. He did say the council understands the uncertainty of the aid, though.

"We always keep in mind when we’re doing the budget, that [the aid] is not guaranteed," he said.

Still, the budget does not contain a lot of areas where the borough could easily make cuts.

"There’s no fluff or padding in case we don’t get the aid," he said. "If we have to make cuts, it will really impact us. None of us want to raise taxes."

Council President Curtis Stollen said the borough will be in a very difficult spot if it gets less than last year.

"It won’t be business as usual," he said. "We’ll cut what we have to cut. We won’t be able to provide the same services."

With a 5.5-cent increase in the tax rate, the municipal rate will be approximately $1.65 per $100 of assessed valuation. One cent on the tax rate is equal to $20,000 in the budget.

Taxpayers are also absorbing an approximately 13-cent hike in the school tax rate, as well as an increase of about 6 cents in county taxes.

Ascione said she does not expect the borough to learn how much aid it is receiving until after Aug. 1.

Zagnit said officials are trying to wean the borough off the aid — something that the state recommends for all municipalities — but the borough is struggling to deal with the vast improvements needed with its water system.

"The water problems alone are a tremendous burden," he said. "The state’s been very good to us, and I don’t feel they’re going to pull the carpet out from under us."