$1.5M fire district budget under review in Millstone
Voters turned down proposed spending plans three years in a row
BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer

MILLSTONE - The fate of the fire district's budget now lies in the Township Committee's hands.

Millstone Township Fire Commissioner Frank Toia told the Township Committee at its Feb. 21 meeting that the fire district has reviewed its budget since it failed with voters and that commissioners are now ready to meet with township officials to go over the spending plan.

Millstone Township Fire District No. 1 proposed a 2007 budget that would rely on a $1.3 million tax levy. In a vote of 154-186, voters turned down the almost $1.5 million spending plan during the annual election on Feb. 17, which was held at the Millstone Township Volunteer Fire Company's firehouse on Stagecoach Road.

If the budget had passed, taxes for the average homeowner in the township with a house assessed at $395,400 would have increased this year by approximately $51.

Fire taxes for the average homeowner would have amounted to about $356, as the proposed spending plan relied on a tax rate of approximately 9 cents per $100 of assessed value.

The amount the fire district aimed to raise by taxation would have increased $230,146 compared to its 2006 levy, according to a budget presentation on the fire district's Web site.

According to the proposed budget, salaries and wages would have increased $64,595 over last year's budget of $488,847. Fringe benefits would have increased $76,516 from $179,050 last year. Other expenses would have increased a total of $49,285, with administration costs rising $12,500 to $95,500.

The fire district planned to use a revenue and fund balance of $179,300 to defray taxes, according to its budget presentation.

The Township Committee will now have to review the fire budget and decide whether or not to make cuts. The Board of Fire Commissioners will go before the Township Committee at its March 7 meeting to discuss the budget.

Mayor Nancy Grbelja said, "The budget review is always a very difficult task in that the committee must heed the desire of the community but at the same time ensure the safety of the residents."

She added, "The voters can be assured that the Township Committee understands the seriousness of this charge and will do its best for the residents of Millstone Township."

In 2004, voters defeated the proposed $1.1 million fire budget only to have the Township Committee review and pass it without amending it.

Last year, voters turned down the proposed $1.3 million budget by a vote of 101-96. After the Township Committee reviewed the spending plan and held a public hearing on it, the committee voted to reduce the proposed tax levy the fire district was calling for from $1.1 million to $1.05 million, and asked the district to use $125,000 of its surplus in order to do so.

For the past two years, township officials urged the fire district to try to get its message out early to voters about its budget and its needs.

Grbelja said the fire department, and particularly Toia, "certainly did all they could to get the message out regarding their budget" this year.

"For the first time, the Board of Fire Commissioners accepted the township's offer to broadcast their budget presentation on Channel 77," she said. "In addition, volunteers and paid firefighters passed out informational pieces to the public to gain their support."

Grbelja said the commissioners' efforts in raising public awareness were evident by the high voter turnout for this year's election.

"This year, more than two times the number of voters turned out than in the past," she said.

During the recent election, voters also cast ballots to fill two seats on the five-member Board of Fire Commissioners. David Markunas and Michael Yock vied for the one available three-year-term seat on the board, and Alex Credidio and Paul Boegemann both sought election to fill the remaining year of an unexpired term.

Markunas toppled Yock in a vote of 234-84.

Boegemann won against Credidio in a vote of 214-88.

With regard to voters turning down the fire district's budget for the third year in a row, Grbelja said she believes any budget that goes before the public this year will be challenged aggressively by the voters.

"The failure of our Trenton legislators to deliver true tax reform has greatly increased voter unrest and will impact the outcome of local budget votes," she said.

Hoping that the Township Committee will not have to review another budget this spring, Grbelja said the Township Committee has also offered the Millstone Township Board of Education the opportunity to broadcast its budget presentation to the community.