Budget to keep tax rate stable UPPER FREEHOLD - The township has proposed a $7.5 million municipal budget for 2007-08. Although the proposed budget amounts to about $300,000 more than last year's budget, Mayor Stephen Fleischacker said the spending plan would not affect the tax rate. Fleischacker said the tax rate would be the same as last year. The average homeowner paid about $569 in municipal taxes last year, according to auditor Michael Cesaro, who made the statement at the 2006 budget presentation. Appropriations for this year's budget within the municipal cap would amount to about $3.5 million, according to Township Administrator Barbara Bascom. Appropriations excluded from the cap would be about $1.7 million, she said. The reserve for uncollected taxes based on an estimated 83.24 percent of tax collections is about $1.5 million, according to Bascom. The Township Committee introduced a resolution for the proposed budget at its April 5 meeting. The budget will be available at the township clerk's office on April 19, with a presentation and public hearing on the spending plan scheduled for May 3. Fleischacker's term in office is up this year and he has decided along with Deputy Mayor William Miscoski to not run for re-election. The candidates on the ballot for the June Republican primary are former mayor John Mele, Lori Mount Horsnall and Stanley Moslowski Jr. Look for extended coverage of the budget and the election in upcoming editions of the Examiner. - Jane Meggitt