Breakdown: Where Did Your Basking Ridge Taxes Go In 2014?

New Jersey, land of the property tax.

But where does that money go, and what is it used for?

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs this week released its complete breakdown of each municipality’s tax payments to schools, libraries, counties, and open space sections.

Bernards Township had the 7th highest property taxes in Somerset County. Many Somerset County towns were among the highest tax paying towns in the state, with others landing dead center.

The average property value for Bernards Township in 2014 came in at $611,083 with the average annual tax payment of $11,816. The property value is good for 61st in the state, while the tax payment comes in at 75th in the state.

A total of 566 municipalities in New Jersey were included in the data breakdown.

But where did your Basking Ridge property taxes go in 2014? Here’s a breakdown for Bernards Township:

• Bernards Township School District: $83,442,340
• Municipal Open Space Tax: $2,638,845.95
• Library Tax: $2,246,423
• Municipal Tax: $16,047,078.47
• Total Municipal Taxes: $20,932,347.42
• County Tax: $23,185,277.21
• Total Bernards Township Tax Used for Tax Rate: $127,559,964.63

The total figure turns into a tax rate of 1.934 in 2014, or $1.93 in taxes for every $100 of assessed property value. That rate was good enough for 17th in the county out of 21 municipalities.

County, municipal, and school districts are subject to a 2-percent tax levy cap each year, which prohibits each body from exceeding the previous year’s budget by two-percent. In the case that a town or school district needs to surpass the limit, a vote must be put to the public. Health and pension costs supplied by the town or school district to its employees is exempt from the tax cap.

So, what do you think, Basking Ridge? How does your town stack up against the rest of the county? How about the rest of the state? Are you happy with the numbers are do you think something needs to change?

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