COLTS NECK – The Township Committee has introduced a 2018 budget totaling $12.66 million that will be supported by the collection of $7.79 million in taxes from Colts Neck’s residential and commercial property owners.
Officials will use $1.45 million from surplus funds (savings) as revenue in the budget. State aid will remain flat at $1.98 million.
A public hearing on the budget will take place on April 25. Residents may comment on or ask questions about the budget at that time and the committee may adopt the budget following the public hearing.
Colts Neck’s 2017 budget totaled $12.23 million and was supported by a tax levy of $7.5 million. Total appropriations in the 2018 budget are up $430,000 and the tax levy is up $290,000 from last year.
In 2017, the municipal tax rate was 25 cents per $100 of assessed valuation and the average assessed value of a home was $843,743. The owner of that home paid $2,109 in municipal taxes.
Officials said the 2018 municipal tax rate is projected to be 25.72 cents per $100 and the average assessed value of a home is now $840,000. The owner of that home will pay $2,160 in municipal taxes this year, an increase of $51 if that person owned the “average” home in both years.
Municipal taxes are one component of a property owner’s tax bill, which also includes Colts Neck K-8 School District taxes, Freehold Regional High School District taxes, Monmouth County taxes and other assessments.
Mayor J.P. Bartolomeo said the 2018 budget is under the permissible tax levy cap and the appropriations cap. He said a majority of the operating budget has remained the same from 2017.
Township officials have budgeted for four Class III special law enforcement officers, who are retired police officers, in the event administrators in the Colts Neck K-8 School District want to station police officers in their buildings. Bartolomeo said the governing body has budgeted for 50 percent of the cost of the special officers.
Bartolomeo said there has been a small increase in budgeting for buildings and grounds to purchase security fencing at the Laird Road Recreational Area and at Bucks Mill Park; to replace various signs; and to install a fire alarm system at Town Hall. It was noted the Colts Neck Fire Department’s budget has increased 5 percent over 2017.
Officials said $417,050 was budgeted for capital programs that include the replacement of police vehicles; new equipment for the fire department; funding for the future purchase of a new fire truck; improvements to Bucks Mill Park; the replacement of damaged or obsolete equipment and vehicles for the Department of Public Works; and a down payment for a road improvement program.
“The direction of the Township Committee this year was to spend money, but to spend it wisely,” Bartolomeo said. “The biggest boots on the ground things we hear about are the beautification of the town, the roads, the DPW, efficiency on cleanup, etc.
“I can speak for myself and for the committee in saying we are very pleased with the direction our DPW has taken. We have gotten many compliments, and a handful of complaints still, but we believe our DPW director, Lou Bader, has done an excellent job in moving us in a great direction that we in concert feel we should move in,” the mayor said.
