2010 Municipal Budget Highlights

2010 Montgomery Township Municipal budget has been adopted.  The tax rate is flat at thirty cents per $100 value. This is the same rate as in 2009 and 2008. The average municipal tax is $1,521 on a home assessed at the township average of $507,138.

The total municipal budget for 2010 is $25,772,876. This represents a reduction of 10.39% or $2,986,972 from the 2009 total budget of $28,759,848, or of 4.8% if grants are excluded from both budget years.

Like most municipalities, Montgomery continues to grapple with decreases in revenue, including a 23.6% decrease in state aid this year, down to $1.38 M from $1.81 M in 2009, less development activity, and associated permit fees, decrease in grant monies received; coupled with significant increases in costs associated with utilities, pension payments, health insurance, road salt, affordable housing mandates, and water service.

Mayor Mark Caliguire commented on the budget:

“These are extraordinary economic times in New Jersey. Taxpayers are literally tapped out and the township committee went into this budget season aware that it was imperative that we not add to an already onerous property tax burden. I am proud to say that with a lot of hard work and with a number of tough decisions we did achieve our goal,” he said.

The 2010 budget reflects cuts associated with:

•  Reduced workforce through layoffs, work hour reductions, and attrition (down 34 positions since 2005)
• Continued salary freeze for all non-union employees with additional health insurance contribution requirement.
• Implementing employee cost-saving suggestions, including incentives to reduce employee multiple carrier coverage for health insurance.
• Transition to regional services, including feasibility studies regarding consolidation of municipal court, code enforcement, tax assessment and police services.
•  A $0 capital improvement budget.
•  Reduced services, including foregoing this year’s Independence celebration and changes to the township newsletter, which is no longer printed and mailed but is distributed electronically.
• Substantial cuts to budgets for recreation, parks & playgrounds, clerk, finance, GIS, tax assessment, and construction/code.
• Library and EMS aid cuts.  Montgomery Township reduced by half from the previous year its funding to the Mary Jacobs Library, but still provided $42,500.  Volunteer emergency medical services aid has been cut to $32,500 from $48,000.

Municipal services provided include public safety, road maintenance/repair and snow plowing, public health, animal control, parks and recreation, senior programs and services, code enforcement, engineering, planning and zoning, capital projects, emergency management, municipal court, recycling, and utility services such as street lights and fire hydrants.

A property owner may calculate his or her municipal taxes for 2010 by multiplying the assessed value of the property by .003. Note: this does not include taxes for public schools, county services, fire district, county library system, or open space.

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 2009 Budget Page and Worksheet