Lawrence Township property owners will not see an increase in the municipal property tax under the proposed $58.1 million municipal budget for 2024 unveiled before the Lawrence Township Council at its Jan. 16 meeting.
The proposed 2024 municipal budget is expected to be introduced at the Township Council’s March 5 meeting. A public hearing and adoption of the spending plan is set for its April 2 meeting.
The municipal property tax rate is unchanged at 65 cents per $100 of assessed value. The owner of a home assessed at the township average of $285,767 will continue to pay $1,863.20 in municipal property taxes.
The municipal property tax is one component of a property owner’s total tax bill. The total tax bill includes the Lawrence Township Public Schools and Mercer County property tax levies.
The $58.1 million proposed municipal budget is $3.6 million less than the 2023 municipal budget of $61.7 million. A one-time transfer from surplus funds to pay for capital improvements, combined with significant grants, drove up the 2023 budget, Municipal Manager Kevin Nerwinski said.
“As we enter into 2024, the same financial conditions and challenges exist as they did when I prepared the 2023 budget message,” Nerwinski said in his message to the Township Council at the meeting.
“However, in this budget we propose no increase in personnel and we find ourselves well positioned to offset our inescapable increases to appropriations (spending) with primarily new ratables, the full balance of the cannabis tax and a conservative approach to provide for meeting the needs of the community and supporting the municipal employees that provide them,” he said.
Based on those factors, the 2024 municipal budget provides for no increase in the municipal property tax, Nerwinski said.
The main source of revenue to support the budget is property taxes. The amount to be raised by property taxes is $30.7 million, which is an increase of $98,892 over the 2023 property tax levy.
The increase in the amount to be raised by property taxes is offset by the growth in the value of taxable properties in the township, Nerwinski said.
Lawrence Township’s tax base is made up of all taxable properties – residential, commercial and industrial. Its value is $4.72 billion for 2024, or $15.1 million more than the total tax base in 2023.
The township also relies on miscellaneous revenue, receipts from delinquent property taxes, state aid and cash surplus funds as sources of revenue, in addition to property taxes.
Miscellaneous revenue includes fees and permits, liquor licenses, the hotel and motel tax and the 2% local retail tax on cannabis dispensaries.
The budget also anticipates using $8.3 million in surplus funds as a source of revenue. The township had $20.6 million on hand as of Dec. 31, 2023.
On the spending side of the proposed budget, the main cost drivers are salary and wages; employee group health insurance; and the Mercer County Improvement Authority (MCIA).
Salary and wages increased by $450,000 and the contribution to the MCIA went up by $304,354 – both based on contractual obligations.
An increase of $390,494 in the employee group health insurance appropriation is due to changes in rates and participation, Nerwinski said.
