By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
MANALAPAN — Residents who want to know how Manalapan officials will spend $33.51 million in the municipal budget this year may pose their questions to the Township Committee during an April 19 public hearing.
The budget was introduced on March 22 in a 5-0 vote from Mayor Susan Cohen, Deputy Mayor Jack McNaboe, Committeewoman Mary Ann Musich, Committeeman David Kane and Committeeman Kevin Uniglicht.
Cohen said “one of the most important duties for the committee is to present a fiscally strong budget to the community” and she thanked Township Administrator Tara Lovrich and Chief Financial Officer Patricia Addario and their staffs for their work on the 2017 budget.
The $33.51 million budget will be supported in part by the collection of $21.93 million in taxes from Manalapan’s residential and commercial property owners, $3.7 million applied as revenue from the surplus account (savings) and the receipt of $3.87 million in state aid, according to Addario.
The 2016 budget totaled $32.78 million and was supported by a $21.29 million local tax levy, $3.82 million from surplus and $3.87 million in state aid.
The municipal tax rate in 2016 was 33.8 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a home assessed at $250,000 paid $845 in municipal taxes. The owner of a home assessed at the township average of $407,300 paid $1,376 in municipal taxes. The owner of a home assessed at $600,000 paid $2,028 in municipal taxes.
Manalapan’s municipal tax rate for 2017 will be 34.2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, according to Lovrich. The owner of a home assessed at $250,000 will pay $855 in municipal taxes ($10 increase). The owner of a home assessed at $407,300 will pay $1,392 in municipal taxes ($16 increase). The owner of a home assessed at $600,000 will pay $2,052 in municipal taxes ($24 increase).
The municipal taxes an individual pays is based on the assessed value of his home and/or property.
Lovrich provided a brief overview of the budget during the March 22 meeting. A more in-depth presentation of the spending plan will be offered during the April 19 public hearing.
Lovrich informed members of the public that last fall, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded Manalapan’s credit rating to Aa1. She said the upgrade “reflects the township’s sizable tax base with moderate new developments, strong healthy indicators, a healthy and stable reserve position, and low debt burden.”
The budget funds the Manalapan Police Department; insurance and statutory expenditures; utilities, sanitation and recycling (the township provides garbage collection for residents); public works and parks maintenance; capital projects/debt; general government; construction/land use; shared services; parks and recreation; and health and human services.
Manalapan has 134 full-time employees and 52 part-time employees.
Municipal taxes are one part of a property owner’s annual tax bill and account for 17 percent of every tax dollar that is paid, according to Lovrich.
Other taxes are paid to Monmouth County (15 percent of every tax dollar), the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District (45 percent), the Freehold Regional High School District (20 percent), a township fire district (2 percent) and other assessments (1 percent).
As of 2015, Manalapan had an estimated population of 40,169 residents. The township’s tax base is 92 percent residential and 7 percent commercial, according to municipal officials.
