SOUTH BRUNSWICK – Municipal taxes in South Brunswick will increase by about $75 this year for the average taxpayer if the budget that has been introduced by municipal officials is adopted on June 25.
The total general appropriations for 2019 is $58.73 million. The utility fund is $30.49 million, according to Joseph Monzo, South Brunswick’s chief financial officer and deputy manager.
The tax levy to support all municipal services, including the library, is $37.3 million.
The municipal tax rate, not including the library, is 88.62 cents per $100 of assessed valuation on the average home that is assessed at $190,000.
The 2018 budget totaled $56.1 million. A local tax levy of $34.7 million was collected from the community’s residential and commercial property owners to support the spending plan. The 2018 municipal tax rate was 84.7 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
The owner of a home assessed at $190,000 paid $1,609 in municipal taxes in 2018. If that home is still assessed at $190,000 for 2019, the owner will pay $1,684 in municipal taxes, an increase of $75.
Monzo said the biggest issue in the township is trying to maintain a fund balance (savings); this year, $1 million was left in the fund balance and in past years it was used as revenue in the budget. He said this has been a common comment from the bond rating agency that evaluates South Brunswick.
“The tax rates have been fairly steady the past few years,” he said.
Monzo noted that health care costs have not increased, as the rate for the group insurance is the same. He said labor contracts are within the 2% to 2.5% range, “so we are not overburdening taxpayers with salaries.”
He said South Brunswick offers premier services to its 48,000 residents in terms of recreation, aging, public works and its police department.
“We provide the services people want,” he said, “and balance the cost of services versus what taxpayers pay.”
Municipal taxes are one item on a property owner’s tax bill, which also includes South Brunswick school taxes and Middlesex County taxes.
Individuals pay property taxes based on the assessed value of their home and/or property, and the tax rate that is set by each taxing entity.
Contact Jennifer Amato at jamato@newspapermediagroup.com.
