Morris Twp. Tax Bill Up About $60

Taxes will go up about $60 for the typical Morris Township homeowner under a budget adopted last week by the township committee.

"I think it's a very fiscally responsible budget for our residents and for ourselves," Township Administrator Timothy Quinn said said.

The owner of a home assessed at the township average of $400,000 will pay about $2,316 in taxes in 2012, up from 2011's $2,256. The tax rate is rising from 2011's 56.4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to 57.9 cents.

The total municipal budget of $33,857,484 does not include county or school taxes, which are set separately. This year's budget is up slightly more than $700,000 from last year.

Despite reduced state aid and increased costs, the township has been able to maintain and increase services, keep all programs, and keep staffing stable, officials said.

The budget includes a number of capital improvement projects, such as Mill Road and Fairchild Avenue reconstruction, sewer utility improvements, and an artificial turf field at Cornine Field.

Part of the budget is going to paving and milling 14 roads, including Canfield Road, Midland Drive, and Western Avenue. The cost for road work went up a little over $100,000 from last year, and Quinn said that it's mainly because of the rising costs of asphalt and fuel.

Quinn said the the biggest challenge in crafting the budget was dealing state mandates, such as pension and healthcare costs. 

"Some of these costs are beyond our control," Quinn said. "We have to provide these to our employees and then we have to find ways to pay for them."

The largest increase tied to mandates came from health insurance costs, which went up 18.6 percent, slightly over $400,000. Quinn said that while it's the same coverage, health coverage in general is skyrocketing.

Over the last five years, the township has lost about $5 million in state aid, mostly after a large decline in 2010. Since 2010, the township has received the same amount of aid each year.

Commercial assessed property values have also been declining, after seeing major drop in 2008. As the values continue to fall in 2012, Quinn said, several property owners are filing tax appeals.

Despite these setbacks, the township was able to save about $400,000 in operating expenses, and more than $200,000 in police pension payments, officials said.

"We sat down with all the department heads on operating expenses," Quinn said. "We looked at what we had spent last year, and looked at what we can reduce."

Quinn said in crafting this year's budget, officials were able to build on efforts put into place in 2011, such as "putting money aside to address one of our major concerns, which is the tax appeals—and we're pretty sure we're going to come to a resolution on those this year and address that so it's no longer a burden to the township right now."

The approved $33.8 million budget stays within the state's required cap on tax levy growth. Normally, a municipality can grow its tax levy—the total amount of tax dollars to be collected throughout the town—by up to 2 percent. However, a town can factor out certain expenses, such as those for pension and healthcare payments, for its calculation of tax levy growth. With those expenses omitted, the town will grow its tax levy by 1.9 percent. With those expenses included, Quinn estimated the figure is between 2 and 2.5 percent.