Politics & Government

Township Sorting Out Budget Options

Mayor says municipality may look at expanding its 401(k) program.

Chatham Township is beginning to sift through some of the details of the tax cap signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie last month.

Township officials said it is clear they will need to work within a 2 percent property tax cap of some kind, though there are certain exceptions that would allow towns to raise taxes higher than that.

There are also 34 bills in Gov. Chris Christie's so-called toolkit to change how local governments do business.

Find out what's happening in Chathamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Township Mayor Nicole Hagner said the town will wait and see how debate will go on the measure before jumping to any conclusions.

"Until some of that is understood, how the township manages it, we'll start obviously looking at that in the fall and seeing what our options are," Hagner said.

Find out what's happening in Chathamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Opponents say measures in the toolkit—like empowering county superintendents, instituting furloughs, and controlling superintendent salaries—are overreaching. Others argue the toolkit is needed to continue the standard set by the cap.

Hagner said she generally approves of Christie's moves thus far.

"I understand and support what Christie's doing in the sense that we all need to make sure we're managing our budgets and keeping taxes under control," she said.

The township has not filled several police department positions that came open this year.

It has not instituted a formal hiring freeze, but former Township Administrator Thomas Ciccarone has said he feels not very many vacant postions will be filled this year.

"The budget drivers for the municipalities are the employees," Hagner said. "Insurance costs are what increase our budget, even this year."

The municipality has required employees to contribute to their health benefits more than they previously had.

Hagner said the township is looking at some potential solutions to employee costs. It could, she said, look at not offering pensions and instead could offer a more expanded 401(k) program.

For now, she said, she feels the township has done all it could have done.

"I think that Chatham Township has done a great job at managing and controlling our budget and our taxes for our residents," Hagner said.


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