By Peter Elacqua
Staff Writer
MARLBORO – The Township Council has introduced a $36.6 million budget that is expected to result in a $64 increase in municipal taxes in 2016 for an individual who owns a home that is assessed at the township average of $494,873.
Officials said the tax increase is the result of snow removal costs incurred during the winter of 2015-16 combined with increasing pension costs and an increase in recycling costs attributable to rising oil prices.
The council introduced the $36.6 million budget on March 10. Marlboro’s commercial and residential property owners will pay a total of $26.27 million in taxes to support that spending plan. Other revenues will account for the remaining $10.33 million in spending.
In 2015, the municipal budget was $34.82 million and the tax levy was $25.28 million.
The municipal tax rate in 2015 was 35.5 cents per $100 of assessed value. The average home was assessed at $492,540 and the owner of that house paid $1,748 in municipal taxes.
In 2016, the average home assessment is $494,873 and the tax rate is projected to be 36.6 cents per $100 of assessed value. The owner of that home will pay $1,812 in municipal taxes, an increase of $64 over last year.
Property owners pay taxes based on the assessed value of their property.
If a home in Marlboro was assessed at $450,000 in 2015, that homeowner paid $1,598 in municipal taxes. If that home is still assessed at $450,000, the 2016 municipal tax bill will be $1,647.
If a home in Marlboro was assessed at $650,000 in 2015, that homeowner paid $2,307 in municipal taxes. If that home is still assessed at $650,000, the 2016 municipal tax bill will be $2,379.
Municipal taxes are one item on a property owner’s tax bill, which also includes Monmouth County taxes, Marlboro K-8 School District taxes, Freehold Regional High School District taxes, a fire district tax and other assessments.
Business Administrator Jonathan Capp attributed half of this year’s $64 tax increase for the owner of a home assessed at the township average to the cost of snow removal in the aftermath of a 20-inch-plus blizzard in January.
The 2016 budget provides a statement from municipal officials about the allocation of funds.
“The last five years of extreme weather have presented tremendous challenges for the delivery of services,” officials said in the budget statement. “Thus far in (the winter of) 2015-16, we have faced only one significant storm, albeit one which dumped more than 2 feet (of snow) on Marlboro and resulted in the governor declaring a state of emergency. (We) commend and congratulate the Department of Public Works for digging us out and keeping us safe during that long weekend. The cost of delivering services in the context of extreme weather continues to drive the operating budget.”
The statement says the 2016 operating budget includes approximately $498,000 in costs related to the January blizzard.
Capp said pension costs for municipal employees will increase from $2.74 million in 2015 to $2.92 million in 2016; health benefit costs for municipal employees have remained flat at $3.32 million; and the reserve for uncollected taxes has increased from $2.33 million in 2015 to $2.39 million in 2016. Capp said the solid waste collection budget has increased from $486,000 in 2015 to $689,000 in 2016.
The budget’s anticipated amount of state aid for 2016 is $2.3 million, the same as in 2015. Surplus funds (savings) being used as revenue in the 2016 budget are $4.2 million, which is the same amount of surplus that was used in 2015.
Police officers in Marlboro were paid $8.4 million in base salaries and wages in 2015. That amount is expected to increase to $8.6 million in 2016. A total of $396,585 was budgeted for police operations in 2015 and $428,397 is budgeted for police operations in 2016.
A public hearing on the budget will be held on during the council’s April 14 meeting. Residents may comment on or ask questions about the budget at that time. The budget may be adopted by the council after the public hearing.
