Committee to Vote on $10.5 Million Budget

The Bedminster Township Committee is planning a public hearing and vote on its municipal budget, as well as continued discussions on its solar ordinance at Monday’s meeting.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the municipal building on Miller Lane.

, and residents can expect to see an increase of $29.32 in their municipal taxes.

The municipal tax bill on an average house assessed at $413,674 will be $1,125.

Contributing to the budget increase is a 4 percent increase in the Policemen Benevolent Association contract, and a $106,182 rise in employee health insurance premiums. Employees’ contribution of $104,485 will keep the net increase to 12 percent.

The budget includes an $11,123 decrease in police and fire pension costs, and $5,000 in electricity costs realized through the installation of solar panels at the municipal building and the department of public works building.

State aid is remaining flat at $866,000.

The committee will also continue discussions on its solar ordinance, which it has been discussing over the past few meetings as members work out concerns they had over the original wording.

At the most recent meeting, the committee determined that ground-mounted solar panels would not be allowed in residential areas with smaller lot sizes, but will be allowed in the R-10 zone, which requires a minimum lot size of 10 acres.

The panels will also be allowed in the R-3 zone, where lot sizes are at least 3 acres.

The committee still has to discuss design standards of the ordinance.

The ordinance is supposed to regulate where solar panels can be built.