Council votes to raise municipal tax rate 5¢
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

"Anyone who is remotely aware of the current situation in New Jersey knows that the government of the state of New Jersey is on hard times." - "Mac" Womack North Brunswick mayor

NORTH BRUNSWICK - The Township Council voted to approve a tax levy that would increase the municipal tax rate by 5 cents during Monday night's meeting.

Mayor Francis "Mac" Womack said the largest budgetary obstacles the township must deal with are increased contributions to the pensions of local and state employees, significant increases in insurance costs, and increased mandates by the state Supreme Court, such as the mandatory pickup of garbage at apartment complexes. There is also the bond for $11 million for the cleanup at the township high school that must be accounted for, which results in one tax point alone.

"Anyone who is remotely aware of the current situation in New Jersey knows that the government of the state of New Jersey is on hard times," Womack said. "Those difficult times, and many of the difficult decisions, are being passed down to us at the municipal level. At a time when we seek to do everything possible not to raise property taxes, we are given increased financial obligations and burdens from the state. I don't say this to 'pass the buck' or make excuses, but to explain in black and white why we will not be cutting taxes, even if we were to cut services."

During last week's council workshop meeting, it was mentioned that the only way to keep taxes low would be to cut personnel, which would thus affect services. Instead, Womack said that although township employee salaries and benefits are negotiated at 3 percent, essentially there is a hiring freeze, or a zero sum increase, because the uncontrollable increases account for 5 tax points alone.

Womack said that to avoid having to eliminate employee positions, each department director worked with Robert Lombard, the business administrator, to assure the same services would be provided to township residents. During budget discussions, directors were not able to ask for an increased budgetary amount but instead had to account only for the bare minimum to maintain the current service level. About $4 million in appropriations that were requested above last year's costs were reduced down to only $2 million.

Therefore, Womack said that no department is receiving funding at levels they would like to have, yet he said the directors have "understood the necessity to do everything possible to keep tax increases to a minimum and have truly come together in a team effort."

"I think our general feeling was that without discussions with our directors, there is no way we could assure services in the township would continue with the kind of cuts we were proposing," Lombard said.

Although a 6- or 7-cent tax rate increase was discussed, the township is expected to receive two $250,000 payments over the next four or five years from a new tax generator in town, whose details must be kept confidential until all legal aspects are in place, the mayor said. Therefore, the council was able to agree on proposing only a 5-cent increase, in anticipation of the agreement being successful. An announcement is expected in about 60 to 90 days.

The township must formulate the municipal budget in two phases: at first, they decide on a levy that sets the tax rate, and afterward they set the budget. This year, the budget numbers were made available to the council well in advance so they could review them. Womack said the intention is to make the process open to the public so they can participate, so that as many people as possible can be involved before the public hearing.

He mentioned a recent town hall meeting in which Congressman Rush Holt visited the township. A resident had asked about local spending, and although Holt could not answer the specific question, he said that North Brunswick has the reputation of being a well-run and responsible township.

"That reputation, I think, derives largely from the decision that each of [the] council [members] have obviously made to let financial decisions be governed not by political expediency but by sound financial and governmental principles. It is also the result of responsible and conservative financial advice we receive from Business Administrator Lombard, who has now served almost complete administrations of both parties, as well as from our Chief Financial Officer Ronald Amorino and our assistant business administrator. Their hard work has helped us focus upon realistic financial options," Womack said.

Throughout the summer, the council will review the municipal budget that the administration proposed, and a formal presentation will be made by Labor Day.