Millstone taxpayers see relief
Proposed municipal budget would not impact tax rate
BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer

The proposed 2007-08 municipal budget would not take more money out of Millstone taxpayers' pockets.

During a special budget workshop meeting at 8 a.m. on April 15 in the municipal courtroom on Millstone Road, the Township Committee announced it will introduce a proposed municipal budget that would not affect the tax rate. The committee anticipated introducing the budget at its April 18 regular meeting.

Deputy Mayor Robert Kinsey said the proposed budget amounts to $7.3 million, which is an increase of $113,000 over the 2006-07 municipal budget.

If the proposed budget passes, a homeowner with a house assessed at the township's average of $395,400 should expect to pay about $356 in municipal taxes again this year.

To keep the municipal portion of the tax rate stable at 9 cents per $100 of assessed value, the proposed budget relies on using approximately $2.8 million in surplus.

"It's a trend we are starting to put in motion," Kinsey said. "The surplus has built up. It's a rainy-day fund. It's here and what's been utilized since I've been in town. We'll continue to utilize the surplus instead of putting the burden on the backs of taxpayers today."

Township Committeeman Elias Abilheira said the township's surplus on Jan. 1, 2006, was $6 million and that only $2.4 million of that money has since been replaced.

"So it was reduced in 2006 by $600,000," he said. "We will not know how much we reduce it this year until next year, when we see how much new surplus comes in."

Abilheira said that because the township is digging deeper and deeper into its surplus, "there is going to become a point when the surplus and the interest rates collide."

"We need to plan effectively to make it a soft landing," he said.

Township Auditor Bill Antonides recommended that the Township Committee put together a five-year plan with regard to its surplus utilization.

Abilheira said the decrease in new development in town has impacted the construction code fees that the township collects, as well as the rollback taxes. He also said that as the township depletes its surplus, it is collecting less interest on it.

"We need stronger control on spending and borrowing as we are relying on surplus to cover almost half of our budget, and as we deplete the surplus, we also lose the interest it would generate," Abilheira said. "So any reduction actually has a greater impact than at face value."

Abilheira said he will recommend that the Township Committee make cuts to the proposed budget before the spending plan goes to public hearing.

Kinsey said he considers using the surplus for this year's budget "responsible," with residents in town "always asking what we're going to do about taxes."

He continued, "This is the only part of the residents' tax bill we have any sway over. If the school budget fails, we will have reviewed nine budgets in the last three years - three Board of Education budgets, three fire commissioner budgets and three of our own."

Residents turned down the last two proposed Millstone Township School District budgets, as well as the last three fire district budgets. This year's proposed school budget went before voters on April 17. The results of that vote were unavailable at press time, but if the budget is passed, the average homeowner would pay approximately $8,000 in school taxes this year.

The fire district portion of the tax rate amounts to $.082, which totals approximately $4 per $100,000 of assessed value, according to Kinsey.

The proposed budget also relies on $1.16 million in state aid, which is up about $20,000 from what it received last year from the state.

The capital side of the proposed municipal budget includes funding for the township's road improvement program, upgrades to township parks, such as Abate Park and Brandywine Park, and more equipment for the township's Department of Public Works (DPW).

DPW Director Ken Gann said his department would like to upgrade from four to six trucks that could plow the roads in inclement weather. Instead of purchasing full-size dump trucks, he said his department would purchase what are called super mason trucks. Gann said the trucks "do the same exact job as the dump trucks at a cost of $40,000 less."

The DPW also wants to purchase a new road grader, which is necessary for leveling out unpaved streets in the township such as Halka Way and Lost Road, according to Gann. The department's current grader, a 1978 model, needs to be replaced because it is too expensive to repair, Gann said.

In addition, the DPW seeks to purchase an overhang to attach to its garage for equipment storage space. Gann said that keeping the department's equipment out of the elements and inclement weather will make it last longer.

Township Administrator James Pickering said the township also needs to purchase a document imagining system so that it can ultimately go paperless. This year's budget would allot $50,000 toward the purchase of such a system, which is expected to cost - along with training for use of the machine - between $150,000 and $225,000 over three years. The system would allow township employees to scan documents for saving in its computer system for easier access. They are currently filed in a facility five miles away from town hall, according to Township Clerk Maria Dellasala.

Dellasala said, "This will help us to go paperless. Then, we can work toward everyone [on the dais] getting a laptop and a Web site that hosts all of this information for you."

With saved document images, the township would be able to discard its filed paperwork every six years, according to Dellasala.

Pickering added, "It's been something we've talked about for years."

Kinsey reported that the township's insurance costs have been moved back inside the cap as a result of a change in the budget cap laws.

"This could cause us significant concern going forward because we could become victims of the industry," he said.

According to Kinsey, the township has been benefiting from its decision to long-term bond for its debt service. The long-term bonding for the township's $10.6 million debt was put in place in 2005.

"It brought about stability knowing that every year you have the same debt service to pay," Kinsey said.

Pickering further reported that the township struck a new deal with Commerce Bank, which is now providing the township with approximately $150,000 worth of free services - including payroll services - that it previously had to pay for.

As a means to collect more revenue, Kinsey said the township will look into turning the former DPW garage on Millstone Road into a profitable asset. He said money from the sale of the property could be used toward the DPW's budgetary needs.

Kinsey said that this year's proposed budget is the result of hundreds of hours of work of municipal employees. He thanked Antonides, Pickering, Dellasala and Chief Financial Officer Annette Murphy, as well as the heads of the township departments, for all their work in putting together the spending plan.

"We're one of few municipalities with a pretty robust budget that increases services to residents," Kinsey said.

He added, "This is the budget we are looking to move forward."