HOWELL – The Township Council has trimmed $80,000 from the 2019 tax levy that was proposed by the Board of Fire Commissioners in Howell’s Fire District No. 3 and rejected by voters in the annual fire district election.
For 2019, the fire commissioners proposed a total budget of $1.957 million. The budget was to be supported by a tax levy of $1.956 million to be paid by the residential and commercial property owners in the fire district. The tax rate for Fire District No. 3 was proposed to be 8.9 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
Howell Fire District No. 3 is east of Route 9 and is served by the Southard Fire Department No. 1.
In the Feb. 16 fire district election, the proposed budget and tax levy was defeated in a vote of 64 “no” to 58 “yes.” The budget’s defeat sent the spending plan to the council for review.
On March 19, council members certified a total budget of $1.877 million and a tax levy of $1.876 million for Fire District No. 3. The 2019 tax rate was set at 8.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
Under the proposed budget put forth by the fire commissioners, the owner of a home assessed at $350,000 would have paid $312 in Fire District No. 3 taxes in 2019. Under the budget certified by the council, that individual will pay $298 in Fire District No. 3 taxes in 2019.
Fire district taxes are one item on a property owner’s total tax bill, which also includes Howell municipal taxes, Howell K-8 School District taxes, Freehold Regional High School District taxes and Monmouth County taxes.
The amount a property owner pays in taxes is determined by the assessed value of his home and/or property and the tax rate set by each taxing entity.
Mayor Theresa Berger, Deputy Mayor Evelyn O’Donnell, Councilman John Bonevich, Councilman Thomas Russo and Councilwoman Pamela Richmond voted to certify the tax levy for Fire District No. 3.
Officials said that following a meeting between representatives of Fire District No. 3 and the municipality, the following reductions in the fire district’s 2019 budget were suggested: $5,000, first aid squad donation; $20,000, training; $20,000, radio systems; $10,000, hazardous materials; and $25,000, building improvements, for a total of $80,000.
Township Manager Brian Geoghegan said the fire district’s capital improvements included a command vehicle for $70,000, a communications tower upgrade for $25,000, turnout gear for $15,000, radio and security systems for $60,000, and building improvements for $100,000.
“Those were the introduced amounts, so some of those (appropriations) have been reduced. During our meetings it was discussed that a lot of these are ongoing projects that the fire commissioners have committed funds toward, or things like turnout gear that reach a life expectancy so they need to reinvest a certain amount every year,” Geoghegan said.
Don Franklin and Louis Memmolo Sr. represented the Fire District No. 3 Board of Fire Commissioners at the March 19 council meeting.
“What you (council members) are voting on today is for the operations of the firehouse, which is trucks, maintenance, gear, everything that goes into that,” Franklin said.
He said some budget items cannot be cut.
“The insurance, the hydrant rentals, I am not sure people are aware we pay an extremely large fee to the New Jersey American Water Company to rent hydrants. If it was up to me, I would rather have a meter on the truck, but we actually pay over $100,000,” Franklin said.
He said there is a lot in the fire district’s budget that some people may not understand.
“I think they see the high number and do not really realize what goes into it. It is a lot of money for insurance,” Franklin said.
He clarified the capital projects, saying, “The tower upgrade, what that is, the radios in this town are horrible, for the police department, the fire department, first aid. The system is 80 years old, it is expired. What the fire commissioners are trying to do is put some money toward that and trying to upgrade that. That would actually benefit the police department as well,” Franklin said.
He said the $100,000 for building improvements is to put a floor in an aging firehouse.
