Municipal Budget Process Underway in Summit

Summit Mayor Ellen Dickson and members of the Common Council express ongoing concern regarding challenges controlling property taxes, city officials said.

City officials believe the most significant challenge involves the County of Union budget, the City of Summit said in a release. Officials are urging County freeholders to find ways to lower operating costs, consider shared services to create more value for residents and to “respect the two-percent cap in the same way that Summit does during its budget process”, the City said.

“While our Municipal budget has been kept well below the state mandated 2 percent limit, the County budget has exceeded the budget cap limits” Common Council President Robert Rubino said in the release. “The continuing escalation of County taxes creates an enormous burden on our community and we continue to work with the County Freeholders on ways to reduce the County tax burden to Summit residents.”

Last month, Rubino attended the Union County Freeholders meeting in Elizabeth to relay the message of fiscal responsibility. “It is a priority of mine and I encourage residents to join me in demanding that the County ease this burden,” Rubino said in the release. “While 21 percent of our taxes are allocated locally to our municipality, 29 percent goes to the County; this tax gap cannot continue to widen.”

The next Common Council meeting where the budget will be discussed is April 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Community members are invited to attend.

(Photo courtesy of the City of Summit)