The BCT call this "In exchange for a modest increase in the local purpose tax, township officials were able to adopt a budget that postponed planned layoffs and furloughs, at least for this year."
Our municipal tax rate will increase 7¢ from $0.981 to $1.054 per $100 of assessed value.
Go to the Edgewater Park Web Site link by clicking here, and when it opens you then click on 2009 budget. You can download a pdf copy of the 2009 budget to your computer and review it.
The following points are items I think need to be addressed by the Edgewater Park Township Committee because of the percentage increase each of the items represent in this 2009 budget.
1. Surplus Anticipated is down $115,207 from 2008, $989,793 in 2009 $1,105,000 in 2008.
2. In the 2008 budget the township collected $366,526 (6.4%) more in revenue then projected in the 2008 budget.
3. Municipal Clerk Salaries & Wages up $15,170, $76,855 2009 $61,685 2008 a 24.6% increase.
4. General Admin dropped $20,906 because one employee moved to Financial Admin. which increased $10,481, and a decrease of temp employees.
5. Audit Services increased $2.000 $27,500 to $29,500. This is an outside Auditor who donates to the election campaigns of the Township Committee members.
6. Employee Group Insurance increased $32,500 from $449,000 to $481,500 a 7.24% increase.
7. Police Dept. Salaries decreased $36,397.
8. Public Works Salaries decreased $8,316.
9. First Aid Squad-Contribution increased $7,000 (28%).
10. Park & Recreation Functions decreased $23,300 (63%).
11. Municipal Court Salaries decreased $4,286 (3.9%).
12. Senior Citizen Transportation decreased $500 (33%).
13. Environmental Committee decreased $5,700 (85%).
14. Reserve for Uncollected Taxes decreases $5,493 (1.3%) in a recession, uncollected taxes increase not decrease. The municipality collects taxes for the School District, County and Fire District and must pay those taxing districts even though the municipality doesn't collect the tax. The reserve is to protect the municipality from having to take money from other budget line items if the tax collections are less then what is projected.
15. The Open Space Tax revenue is $31,032. It has been the practice of the past Township Committees to use that revenue for field maintenance, $24,785 in 2008, and not the purchase of properties to be preserved as open space. I don't know if this means that the 2009 Open Space Tax Revenues collected will be used for field maintenance because it doesn't say so on sheet 43 of the 2009 Budget, but in the 2009 budget the Park & Recreation line item decreased by $23,300. After 8 years of collecting $210,655 for the Open Space Tax, $141,352 is left and that is included in the Surplus Account of $989,793 on Sheet 4 of the 2009 Budget .
16. The Municipal Debt Service increased $53,500 (16%).
17. 2009 Budget Revenues are down $18,654 (.00324%) from 2008.
18. 2009 Budget Appropriations (spending) are down $34,654 (.006%).
Check the 2009 Budget against the 18 highlighted items shown above. Comment on any items we may have over looked so that we can all understand why our local municipal Local Purpose Tax keeps increasing at a rate far greater than the rate of inflation.
The Edgewater Park Reporter.
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