By Andrew Martins
Staff Writer
JACKSON – Municipal officials have introduced a $41.8 million budget to fund the operation of Jackson in 2016. The budget will be supported in part through the collection of $30.9 million in property taxes from Jackson’s residential and commercial property owners.
Business Administrator Helene Schlegel said the “ultimate goal” in crafting the budget was to provide services to residents while being efficient with finances.
“The principles driving this budget are living within our means, creating a more intensive customer-centered culture and supporting high performance and accountability in our organization,” Schlegel said. “We want to spend within our means for long-term fiscal stability and be reliable on non-tax revenues.”
In 2015, Jackson property owners supported a $41.6 million budget through the collection of a $30.3 million tax levy.
The 2016 budget shows the municipal tax rate increasing from 45.5 cents to 46.4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The increase in the tax rate will have a different impact on each property owner depending on the assessed value of his home and/or property.
In 2015, the average home in Jackson was assessed at $325,216 and the owner of that home paid $1,480 in municipal taxes.
In 2016, the average home is assessed at $325,748 and at the proposed tax rate, that owner will pay $1,511 in municipal taxes — an increase of $31.
Municipal taxes are one component of a property owner’s total tax bill. Property owners also pay Jackson Township School District taxes, Ocean County taxes and other assessments.
School taxes account for 57 percent of a Jackson property owner’s tax bill, municipal taxes account for 21 percent, county taxes account for 15 percent and fire district taxes account for 4 percent, Schlegel said. Other assessments make up the remaining 3 percent.
About 90 percent of the properties in Jackson are residential, leaving homeowners “bearing a very high burden” when it comes to funding the budget, the business administrator said.
In an attempt to reduce the impact on homeowners, Schlegel said, officials are trying to attract more non-residential uses to the community.
The 2016 budget will use about $3 million from surplus funds (savings) as revenue. In 2015, the budget used $2.65 million from surplus funds as revenue.
“We are finally starting to crawl out of the weeds,” Councilman Scott Martin said. “The fiscal responsibility that has been put into place over the last few years is finally bearing fruit. You look at so many towns that say they are not raising their taxes, but they are bleeding their surplus to do it; we are not doing that.”
Schlegel said about $2.89 million in anticipated capital expenses for 2016 include the acquisition of new vehicles and equipment for the Department of Public Works; new police vehicles and equipment; and engineering and road project expenses.
Significant appropriations in the budget include $12.1 million for law enforcement and emergency services (about $10.7 million of that total will be spent on police salaries). Municipal salaries and wages are budgeted at $18.2 million. The Department of Public Works will receive $4.8 million, with $2.6 million of that amount appropriated for salaries.
“This year the police and fire pension payments went up 11 percent and the public employee retirement payments went up 6 percent, so that was a hit we took from the state that drove up the budget,” Schlegel said.
State aid has remained flat at $3.4 million for 2016. The number of anticipated grants has declined, according to municipal officials.
Prior to voting on the budget’s introduction, Township Council Vice President Kenneth Bressi said the spending plan was an indication of a good fiscal trend for Jackson.
“I think the mayor and the administration put together a very fiscally responsible budget,” Bressi said. “We added police, we added services, and overall, I am very happy” with the budget.
