By KENNY WALTER
Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — The City Council has adopted the 2016 budget, which is set at $55.8 million.
The council unanimously adopted the spending plan during the June 14 meeting, and Mayor Adam Schneider said the city is on solid ground financially.
“We’re in pretty good shape financially, you go up in insurance every year,” he said. “You go up in salaries, and the biggest chunk of your budget is going to be between salaries and health insurance.
“We operate efficiently, not perfectly, but efficiently. Good things continue to happen so the increases are never major.”
The $55.8 million budget represents an increase from last year’s $54.4 million budget.
The tax levy comes in at $37.2 million, an increase from last year’s $35.8 million levy.
The library tax is $1.5 million, and the council will use $2.9 million in surplus, while state aid comes in flat at $4.3 million.
The average assessment in Long Branch rose from about $364,000 in 2015 to $413,000 in 2016. Despite the increase in value, a property owner at the city average will pay an estimated increase of $162.95 in taxes, which includes municipal, county, school, library and open space taxes.
