Politics & Government

Township Budget Poses $29 Average Increase

Committee also discussed lowering the Open Space tax to half of a cent per $100.

The Chatham Township Committee unanimously passed the municipal budget for the 2011 fiscal year at its regular meeting Thursday night. Committee Member Kevin Tubbs was absent from the meeting.

Administrator Tom Ciccarone said the budget ended up about $450,000 under the state-mandated 2 percent tax levy cap.

State aid for Chatham Township was proposed at $836,467,  

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The estimated tax rate in 2010 was $1.601. In 2011, it’s $1.634. The breakdown includes 64 percent for schools; 17 percent for county; 18 percent for local and 1 percent for open space.

The average residential assessment in 2010 was $747,500. In 2010, the local tax rate of 31.8 cents for $100 of assessed value resulted in a municipal tax bill of $2,377. The proposed rate would be $2,406, an increase of $29 for the year. These figures are based on a $700,000 home.

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The township moved to two shared services in 2010, a with Chatham Borough, Harding and Madison and a move to the Morris County emergency dispatch system. Both these moves saved money in the budget.

Mayor Nicole Hagner said she was "pleased" with the budget. "I think it was a nice accomplishment for us," she said, adding that the Budget Committee and Ciccarone strived to keep taxes as level as possible.

"Many of the increases, there's not too much we could do about it, unfortunately," Hagner said.

Ciccarone said revenues for the township under the 2011 budget included:

  • Taxes for municipal purposes: $$9,600,577
  • Surplus to be used as revenue: $1.75 million
  • Miscellaneous revenues collected: $1.7 million
  • Receipts from delinquent taxes: $550,000

Ciccarone said at a previous meeting that the 2011 capital budget includes various road improvements, the purchase of a security system for police headquarters, and the purchase of fire equipment to support volunteers.

According to Ciccarone, the budget is appropriated as follows:

  • Operations within the cap: $8.9 million
  • Statutory expenses (such as pensions and insurance): $1.2 million
  • Operations outside the cap: $1.4 million
  • Capital improvements fund: $50,000
  • Reserve for uncollected taxes: $1.3 million
  • Municipal debt service: $578,000
  • Ciccarone said the precise numbers ended up being exactly the same for both revenues and appropriations, for a total of just over $13,672,000.

Some of the increases in the budget include:

  • Health insurance: $190,000
  • Police pension: $116, 248
  • Joint library: $70,000
  • Public employees pension: $67,370
  • Reserve for uncollected taxes: $102,062

A hearing on the budget and a final motion for adoption will be scheduled for the first committee meeting in April.

Open Space Tax

The committee also discussed lowering the Open Space tax, which automatically goes to 2 cents per $100 at each new budget cycle, to about half a cent instead. Committee Member Bailey Brower said that such a move would keep taxes level, and would be a service to those in residents on a fixed income.

Open Space Committee Chair Joe Basralian argued in favor of keeping the tax level both during his annual report to the mayor and committee and again during the public comments section, to keep the open space fund replenished. Resident Stewart Carr said that with land values down a rough economy, "Now would be the time to raise [the tax] to three cents, not when the market's hot."

A final public hearing and vote on the open space tax will be held at the meeting on March 24.

Dispatch Service

Police Chief John Paton said that the township was currently undergoing the switch to the Morris County dispatch system. The telephones, he said, will move over Monday at 10 a.m. and the radios will move over at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

"From an emergency dispatching standpoint, the public shouldn't notice any difference at all. In fact, there should be an improvement in speed and cohesiveness," Paton said.

Paton said there will be a police department employee behind the window at the station between about 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to answer calls, but at other times incoming calls will be answered by an automated answering system.

After hours, the public can use a callbox on the side of the building to contact the dispatcher. For anyone seeking a safe haven in the police building, the dispatcher can give a combination to open the door to the building.

"We think we have everything covered," Paton said.

Senior citizens who live alone will have their own voicemail account with the township police so they can call in every day. If the police do not receive a call, they will contact the seniors.

Paton said between four and six people currently use this service.


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