EAST WINDSOR: Five in a row – budget again includes no tax increase

The streak continues for East Windsor taxpayers., For the fifth consecutive year, the township’s municipal budget, introduced March 21, contain no tax increase for local residents., In a streak that began in 2013, the 2017 municipal tax rate component remains the same – 43 cents per $100 assessed valuation. For the average current residential assessment of $258,287, the 2017 municipal tax is $1,122., “The East Windsor municipal component of the total local property tax bill remains at less than 15 percent. That is among the lowest amounts in the entire region and well below the statewide average,” said East Windsor Mayor Janice Mironov. “And yet we continue to deliver a very high quality level of services to our residents.”, The mayor calls the budget “a fiscally conservative document” that serves the community and retains all existing service levels., “East Windsor has worked hard to keep our spending levels tight and continually seek out additional efficiencies, cooperative purchasing avenues and service sharing opportunities, and maintained a very low debt level,” said the mayor. “This positive outcome results from the pro-active efforts of the township to carefully plan and to closely monitor expenditures and revenues throughout the year.”, The mayor noted that the 2017 municipal budget “reflects several cost savings, revenue generating initiatives, including, for example the new solar array at the police/court facility, and the shared services agreement with Hightstown Borough for dispatch services.”, Mayor Mironov also noted that the township 2017 tax base has increased by $18.5 million (to $2,757,172,885 in 2017), as East Windsor has been highly pro-active and successful in supporting existing business and seeking to expand business opportunities and attract new commercial retables., In addition to many new stores and restaurant openings and new retail developments as The Shoppes at East Windsor and Galleria at Twin Rivers and Lightbridge Academy, several new pharma companies have located to the township. Other East Windsor current major projects include among others, another Shiseido expansion (to 311,000 square feet), Hovione expansion doubling its size to 52,000 square feet, Aurobindo Pharma (599,000 square feet) on Windsor Center Drive, Gateway Twin Rivers on Milford Road (411,000 square feet), and redevelopment of the former NL site on Wyckoff Mills Road 2,757,172,885 (635,000 square feet)., The 2017 municipal budget of $22,015,365 is 2.15 percent more than the 2016 approved budget of $21,552,312. The 2017 municipal tax levy amount is well below the available state cap levy amounts. While the mayor and council have introduced a no tax increase budget, the available tax levy allowance would enable a further increase of $1,713,920 that is an additional 6.2 cents on the municipal tax rate., “At the same time, the State of New Jersey continues to flatline municipal state funding and unjustly divert millions and millions of municipal dollars which should be going to towns for property tax relief for our taxpayers,” said Mayor Mironov.

Exit mobile version