Tuesday: Public Hearing on Aberdeen's $16.3M Municipal Budget

The public is welcome to comment and ask questions about Aberdeen's $16,333,733.06 municipal budget at the township council's May 7 meeting. 

The budget, which was introduced on March 20, calls for an approximately $601,389.83 increase in the tax levy from the adopted 2012 budget to $10,690,313.82. About $719,969 of the tax levy is allotted for the Matawan Aberdeen Public Library.

According to Aberdeen Chief Financial Officer Angela Morin, the budget has not been changed since it was first introduced on March 20. 

The tax rate would also see an increase if it were adopted as is, from 48.7 cents per $100 of a property's assessed value to 51.77 cents. Although there is a 6.3 percent increase in the tax rate, the budget complies with state standards, Township Administrator Holly Reycraft said in March. Municipalities are allowed to exceed the state's two percent budget cap to meet employee health and pension requirements, debt service and emergency spending requirements, such as that incurred in Hurricane Sandy.

Currently, the average Aberdeen home is valued at $282,000 which results in $1,373.34 in municipal taxes for the year or about $114.45 a month. That same home would see their taxes increase to $1,459.91 a year or about $121.66 per month.

Although the council will hold a public hearing on the budget, they not vote on it Tuesday night, according to Morin. 

Editor's note: Read more about the 2013 budget as it was introduced here. The township budget can be accessed online here.