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Final Vote On 19.6-Cent Tax Rate Hike Set For Monday
By Keith Hagarty
Taxpayers will get their final say on a proposed 19.6cents tax rate increase on Tuesday, when the township council holds its final public hearing and vote on the 2006 municipal budget.
The 19.6-cent tax rate hike per $100 of assessed property value represents a 25 percent increase, bringing the overall municipal tax rate to 79.5-cents. The increase means that the average township home assessed at $200,000 would now pay an estimated annual municipal property tax of $1,590, an additional $320 per year. A resident's overall tax bill is made up of those municipal taxes - roughly 25 to 30 percent of a tax bill overall, as well as county, school and other taxes.
The $37.9 million budget is approximately $5.23 million, or 14 percent, larger than last year's budget, with $22,452,715 raised from taxation, an increase of about $6.5 million.
The council held three budget workshops in late August, which they agreed were very productive for helping to open the lines of communication between the governing body and the taxpayers.
"I think they were very successful workshops," said Councilman Jason Gudaitis, noting that despite the longer than expected hours of the workshops, he was glad to see the involvement of the community and the ideas they brought to the table.
"I believe the council and the residents that did attend did receive many answers by questioning the department heads we had here," he said. "It hopefully helped them understand how we got into the financial situation we're in now with our current budget, and possibly even more important is how we're going to move forward out from this."
Some of the most notable appropriation increases include: $738,000 for estimated salary adjustments for five union contracts; $482,000 for utility expenses, such as an increase in energy costs with gasoline alone going up by $242,000; $426,521 in annual health care costs for municipal employees; $401,883 in municipal employee pension payments $300,000 for special emergency authorization; $250,000 for the capital improvement fund; $231,079 for gypsy moth control; $216,175 in recyclable pickup fees; $197,000 in estimated costs for the change of government process; $190,000 for bulky waste disposal fees; and $182,747 in debt service, which includes the mandatory repayment of longterm debt and interests costs.
While she would hope to see more attendees at next year's budget workshops, Councilman Emily Ingram was still pleased with what she saw.
"The most important thing I found was that it gave the Jackson residents an opportunity to actually ask the different department heads where they're spending the money and why," she said.
Those sentiments were echoed by Councilwoman Ann Updegrave.
"I feel that the budget workshops were very informative," she said, blaming the previous township committee's financial management as the reason for the proposed tax increase. "Unfortunately, all's we can do is apologize to you (the taxpayers), but we inherited this situation, and we're working very hard," she said.
Council President Angelo Stallone thanked everyone who attended the workshops, saying it was a great opportunity for the public to get a clearer understanding of why such a large tax increase was an unfortunate necessity. He recommended residents obtain copies of the department heads various reports at town hall.
"I would hope that everyone would take advantage of these reports and help them understand the budget process, and why these increases are necessary," he said.
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