Officials blame state for looming tax hike
Despite cuts, O.B. faces more expenses, loss of revenues
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer
As Old Bridge homeowners receive their tax bills reflecting this year's $15 increase in the municipal tax portion, they may have to brace themselves for nearly seven times that amount for 2009.

Taxpayers can expect an average increase of $93 for 2009 if current budget numbers do not change, Mayor Jim Phillips said.

The rise in costs comes from factors beyond township officials' control, according to Phillips.

"It's the perfect storm of a) decreased aid, b) increased mandates, and c) the tremendous increase in energy costs," he said.

Raining its effects on taxpayers, the storm is forecasted to bring a 6-cent increase per $100 of assessed valuation, translating to an additional $7.75 per month for the average property in town, assessed at $150,000.

Phillips and Township Finance Director Himanshu Shah explained that although municipal spending has decreased by nearly $3 million, losses in revenue and mandates are inflating the budget as a whole.

The decrease in state aid totals $1,303,953. State-mandated increases in municipal costs total over $750,000, including a required contribution of $188,405 to the township's public library and a projected state pension cost increase of $564,589. The skyrocketing cost of energy has resulted in a $262,500 increase.

Revenue losses come from a $300,000 decrease in interest income, and a $550,000 decrease in code enforcement revenue because of fewer new homes being built.

By slightly altering words once uttered by the late Will Rogers, Phillips offered his view of the issue.

"This year, no man, no council, no homeowner is going to be safe while the Legislature is in session," Phillips said.

Like many other mayors throughout the state, Phillips is disgruntled with Gov. Jon Corzine's budget, which decreased aid to municipalities while upholding spending caps for them and keeping mandates in place.

"I don't understand how the state of New Jersey can say it cut spending when all it did was cut aid to the municipalities," Phillips said.

He said the move would be akin to officials in a town cutting recreational sports for kids and other regular programs, and then touting their ability to curb spending.

"Not only that, but they keep passing on mandates that we have to perform," Shah said. "They have to take the responsibility of their actions. I call [us] the stepchild of the state."

While they were overshadowed by the revenue losses and additional costs, cuts to the operating budget kept the overall tax increase in check.

Five positions in the township were eliminated through attrition. When Ellen Ritchie left her position as director of community development, Township Engineer Jim Cleary took on her duties. In addition, the town did away with the positions of two housing inspectors, a construction office clerk, and a parks and recreation mechanic.

"It comes down to a matter of trying to do more with less," Phillips said. "We're instituting a general hiring freeze, but we're not going to let public safety suffer."

Other savings were derived from municipal department heads decreasing their individual budgets, and from tax collections increasing from 98 to 99 percent over the past year.

"We were very aggressive in our tax collection," Phillips said.

The township runs on a fiscal year budget system, and though next year's tab will not be adopted until sometime this fall, Phillips was required to present a working document by Tuesday. From there, the budget fell into the hands of the Township Council for further tweaking.

"The Council, in their own way, will work with this budget [and] try to improve it," Phillips said.

Councilman Pat Gillespie said current numbers are nowhere near set in stone, and residents should not assume the worst.

"Even though we've taken some pretty big hits ... there is still some stuff we can look at," Gillespie said.

The Council will apply for state extraordinary aid, which they will find out about in November. They will also try to take advantage of a provision in the state library law that allows towns to ask their libraries for money back from their annual mandated contribution, Gillespie said.

"The mayor has done a really good job with the difficult hand we've been dealt," Gillespie said. "I still think there are some options we can pursue."