CFO: Committee Must Increase Revenue to Avoid Tax Hike

Residents may be facing a $94.80 per year increase in their tax bill, as the township is facing at least a $500,000 shortfall after the committee discussed spending more than $1.5 million in

To balance the budget, the committee would have to either raise revenues or cut expenditures, Chief Financial Officer Adrian Fanning said.

“To meet the expenditure requests, you will have to defer ($1.1 million in) school taxes again,” Fanning said. “I don’t see anyway out of it.”

Without deferring school taxes and increasing revenue, taxes could rise between $5.27 and $7.90 per month for the average homeowner, assessed at $317,924, he said.

After hearing departments make their case for , the committee agreed to purchase everything from hoses for the fire departments and a power stretcher for Lanoka Harbor EMS to vehicles for the police department and trucks for public works.

“We have to bond every single one of these,” said Committeewoman Helen DelaCruz, who believes the township should “make do with what (it) has.”

Resident Bill Moss pointed out public works and the police department will be losing a vehicle each by next year and the deferment of school taxes will be down to $500,000.

“If you don’t get these vehicles now, you’re not going to be able to get them next year when your budget is much larger than it is now,” he said.

The purchases total to approximately $1,548,941 but the committee also turned down hundreds of thousands in other requests.

“I would really like to do them all…but unfortunately, we’re really in rough times,” Committeeman Sean Sharkey said. “We need to make the efforts to not spend anymore than we absolutely have to.”

I absolutely hate the idea of increasing our debt,” Sharkey added. “I’m not in favor of a tax increase. We may have to look further for cuts.”

The committee turned down department’s requests for new hires, which would generate a savings of $200,000, Fanning said. The township has another $100,000 in savings from healthcare deductions with current contributions at 1.5 percent.

But the committee will have to look further, he said.

“We have cut our (operating expenses) to the point where there’s not much left to cut,” Fanning said.

DelaCruz recommended switching the township to a 4-day workweek with 10-hour days to save in utilities.

“I don’t want to cut the services that we provide because that’s what we’re here for,” Township Administrator Veronica Laureigh said, who agreed to look into the potential savings. A move like that would have to be negotiated.

The need to consolidate emergency services in the future was also mentioned by Sharkey and several other committee members.

“I agree,” Committeeman David Most said. “I know politically it’s not a favorable thing to address but the bottom line is that as our revenues are being reduced and we’re in this cap, eventually we’re going to have to make these decisions.”

Resident Gary Vaccaro recommended the committee make a budget presentation so the community understands the moves they are deciding to make.

The committee was asked to look further into increasing revenue and reducing expenditures. The next budget meeting will be Thursday, April 19 at 7 p.m.

Capital Requests the Committee Agreed to:

• Forked River Fire Department: $4,000 in hoses
• Lanoka Harbor Fire Department: $4,000 in hoses, funds towards a pumper rescue if the department is awarded a grant.
• Bamber Lake Fire Department: $2,000 in hoses
• Lanoka Harbor EMS: a $13,000 power stretcher
• Police: a $23,000 fence and three vehicles totaling approximately $81,351.
• Public Works: Community Development Block Grant for Vaughn and Williams road project- $234,000 with a $32,000 grant; Laurel Boulevard project- $420,600 with a $200,000 grant; 2012 Municipal Aid for the Lakeside Drive North to Lakeside Drive South project- $445,990 with a $250,000 grant; HVAC upgrades- $72,000; single axle dump truck- $160,000; a mason dump truck- $65,000; and portable jack posts- $47,000.