Politics & Government

Township 2012 Budget Includes 4 Percent Tax Hike

Cranford Committee members vow to make additional cuts before the final adoption of the plan. Deputy Mayor sets two meetings to review budget with residents.

The Township Committee introduced a budget Tuesday night that carries a tentative 4 percent tax increase, but officials say the $33.7 million spending plan is still "a work in progress."

"We're starting out with a 4 percent increase in taxes, but we already have several things in the works that should lower that significantly," Deputy Mayor Andis Kalnins said, adding that the governing body plans to take another look at the budget to see where additional reductions can be made.

The decision to introduce the spending plan was unanimous among township commissioners. None of the residents who attended the meeting commented on the municipal budget or proposed tax increase during the public portion of the meeting.

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The formal introduction of the budget will allow the Township Committee to send the spending plan to Trenton for review.

"I've got some concerns about the budget," Commissioner Kevin Campbell said. "But this is stil not the final budget."

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Mayor David Robinson briefly discussed the process used by the governing body to put the budget together, saing that the Township Committee "completed a fairly exhaustive line by line evaluation" of the spending plan.

As the budget stands now, the 4 percent tax hike will equate to an annual municipal tax bill of about $2,238 per year for residents living in a home with an average assessed value of $181,600. Kalnins pointd out, however, that the tax bill is composed of not just the municipal assessment, but county and school taxes as well. The school portion makes up 55 percent of the tax bill.

Kalnins, who chairs the municipal finance committe, said that the 2012 budget includes a total of $50,000 that can be used toward capital projects. According to state laws governing budgets, a municipality can make a 5 percent downpayment on a capital project. The $50,000 that the Township Committee has set aside will allow the town to bond $1 million of work. Some of the major projects that the township will undertake this year includes road repair as well as the installation of narrowband radios for the , and departments. the upgraded radio system is a federal requirements, Kalnins said, and will cost approximately $250,000.

During a recent conference meeting, officials discussed some of the individual budget requests that had been made by departments within the township. Some of the larger requests included two street sweepers for the DPW. In addition, the Fire Department requested new ambulances at a cost of $1.1 million. Not all of the requests will make it to the final budget, however.

Kalnins said the Township Committee expects the $33.7 million in appropriations to be "offset by $12 million in revenue." Officials have said in recent weeks that the mild winter will also save the township money, since it will not have to purchase additional supplies such as salt in order to prepare for next winter.

In order to give residents the opportunity to ask questions about the budget or make comments, the deputy mayor will hold hold open office hours from 7 to 9 p.m. on April 3 and April 17 in Room 108, the small meeting room down the hall from the  office, of the Cranford Municipal Building.


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