JAMESBURG – The Jamesburg Borough Council has introduced a $5.9 million budget to fund the operation of the municipality this year, and set April 18 as the date for a public hearing and possible adoption of the spending plan.
There is an additional $940,000 budgeted for the sewer utility, Business Administrator Scott Frueh said.
The 2018 budget has increased by $130,000 from 2017 and the amount to be collected in local taxes has increased by $110,000.
In 2018, Jamesburg’s residential and commercial property owners will pay a total local tax levy of $4.26 million to support the municipal budget. The borough will receive $413,905 in state aid and officials will use $600,000 from surplus funds (savings) as revenue in the budget, with an additional $40,000 for the sewer utility, Frueh said.
The municipal tax rate is projected to be $1.791 per $100 of assessed valuation. The average home is assessed at $122,543 and the owner of that home will pay $2,194 in municipal taxes this year.
The 2017 municipal budget totaled $5.77 million and was supported by a tax levy of $4.15 million, according to Frueh. Officials used $550,000 from surplus funds and received $413,905 in state aid.
The municipal tax rate was $1.761 per $100 and the average home was assessed at $122,453. The owner of that home paid $2,155 in municipal taxes.
An individual who owned the “average” home in 2017 and owns the “average” home in 2018 will pay $39 more in municipal taxes this year. Municipal taxes are one item on a property owner’s tax bill. Jamesburg property owners also pay Jamesburg school district taxes and Middlesex County taxes.
Frueh said that for 2018, “We have our standard two percent raises for employees who are not under union contract. We increased our health costs due to hiring new employees. Our dispatchers’ cost decreased because [of] new employees hired in 2017. We only estimate the schools and county taxes at a two percent increase.”
Frueh said $100,000 from the 2018 budget will be used for capital improvements and $60,000 in sewer capital improvements. New municipal employees who have been hired include one new Department of Public Works employee and one or two police officers/special officers.
Frueh said the zoning officer has been made full-time. No municipal employees are retiring at this time and no departments are being eliminated, according to the business administrator.
Contact Vashti Harris at vharris@newspapermediagroup.com.
