2009
Municipal Budget Highlights (An Archive)
The
2009 Municipal tax rate is .030, or thirty cents per $100 value.
This is the same rate as in 2008. There is no increase. The
average municipal tax will be $1,528.50 on a home assessed at
the township average of $509,500.
The
total municipal budget for 2009, exclusive of grants, is $26,763,781.
This represents a reduction of $925,250 or 3.34% from the 2008
budget, also exclusive of grants.
Like most municipalities,
Montgomery continues to grapple with decreases in revenue (lower
state aid, less development activity and associated permit fees)
coupled with significant increases in cost associated with utilities,
pension payments, health insurance, road salt, affordable housing
mandates and water service.
The 2009 budget reflects
cuts associated with:
- Reduced workforce through layoffs and attrition (down 20 positions
since 2006), as well as work-hour reductions
- Salary freezes for all non-union employees except Kid Connection
teachers- Transition to regional services, including police/EMS
dispatch
- Deferral or elimination of most capital projects and equipment
purchases
- Reduced service in some areas including the township newsletter,
which has been reduced from 10 issues a year to four.
- Substantial cuts to budgets for administration, tax assessment,
construction code and capital improvements.
“The consensus
on the Township Committee this year was to get to zero tax increase
if we possibly could. That’s what we’ve done,”
noted Mayor Louise Wilson. “It’s important to understand
that our revenues have fallen off substantially, so this budget
reflects deep cuts as well as a commitment to doing some things
differently – that is, regionally. Montgomery has been
a leader in shared services, and now we’re taking that
concept a step further, moving certain functions to the county
that have been handled locally up to now. The two major examples
this year are police dispatch and senior transportation. I expect
the trend will continue, and we will have more changes and tough
choices to make in 2010 and beyond.”
“Some budget
items we have chosen not to cut. We have not cut our contribution
to the library or to EMS,’ continued Mayor Wilson, “and
we are continuing to invest in open space preservation, which
enhances the township and provides a hedge against future tax
increases. We did not cut the budget for planning or public
works, and the township will pay its full pension obligation;
we are not exercising the option to defer that payment.”
The municipal
budget represents about 11% of the property tax bill. Municipal
services include public safety (police), road maintenance/repair
and snow plowing, parks and recreation, senior programs and
services, code enforcement, planning and zoning, capital projects,
emergency management, municipal court, recycling, public health,
animal control and utility services such as street lights and
fire hydrants. The remaining 89% of the property tax bill is
school taxes (about 69%), county taxes (17.5%), fire district
taxes (1.3%) and the open space tax (1.3%).
To calculate
your municipal taxes for 2009, multiply the assessed value of
your home by .003. (Note, this does not include taxes for public
schools, county services, fire district, county library system
or open space.)
The Township
Committee held at least four public meetings between January
and May in which details of the budget were discussed at length
and time was set aside for public comment. The municipal budget
was introduced April 16th and a public hearing held on May 21
when it was adopted.
A
copy of the budget is available in the Office of the Municipal
Clerk, 2261 Rt. 206, Belle Mead, NJ, (908) 359-8211 during the
hours of 8:00 a.m to 4:30 p.m. each weekday.
Link to 2008 Budget Page and Worksheet
