Summit Leaders Dive Into Municipal Budget Details In Online Video

SUMMIT, NJ — Mayor Elizabeth Fagan and Tammie Baldwin, the City Administrator and Chief Financial Officer, hosted a live video session on Tuesday night to help the community better understand the city's budget and where their tax dollars go.

Fagan served as the moderator while Baldwin, a lifelong resident of Summit and the great-great-granddaughter of the City's second mayor, gave information on the different ways funding is used.

"My heart is here in Summit," Baldwin says, "As well as my brain...year-round, every day I touch the budget in one way or another."

The conversation included a breakdown of resident property taxes and where the money goes every year. Baldwin started with the largest chunk, 49% to 51%, which goes to the school budget.

She says another 21% is used by the City for all of the salaries of officials such as police officers and firefighters, various other city improvement projects, and contracts for equipment. Union County gets the amount left over.

"I always say you get the most bang for your buck at the municipal level," Baldwin adds.

On the state level, the cost of health benefits continues to be a concern. In Summit, employees and the City both pay into the plans.

Baldwin says the cost for plans have risen almost 50% over the last three years and is predicted to rise 37% in the next round of enrollment.

"This is just horrific when you're trying to put a budget together," she adds. "It's really difficult to find new streams of revenue."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Summit had to call in what is called a "special emergency" to help with funds lost from the decrease in transportation and other programs. Baldwin says the City lost $1 million from scaled-back travel at the train station.

By calling in the "special emergency," the state took over reviewing the City's budget for five years which can delay adoption of future budgets, and take away flexibility to move forward on different programs.

Baldwin also alluded to a state-mandated 2% property tax levy cap as an ongoing challenge.

Summit's AAA bond ratings from the three major agencies, based on characteristics like infrastructure care which the groups survey, has helped offset some of these concerns surrounding monetary resources needed for projects.

"This allows us to borrow money cheaper than other municipalities can," Baldwin points out. "When our bonds or notes go out for sale, I think it carries a lot of weight."

On the way to concluding the stream, Baldwin shared a final message wanting her neighbors to realize that she and other leaders know, "The residents pay a lot of money in taxes and they deserve to have good services...and everyone really cares about the quality and pride in the work that they do."

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