Average U.F. homeowner can expect $8,500 tax bill BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer UPPER FREEHOLD - An owner of a house assessed at the township's average can expect to pay an additional $192.33 in taxes this year as a result of the new municipal budget. The Township Committee unanimously passed a $6.7 million 2007 budget at its May 3 meeting. Township Auditor Michael Cesaro gave a presentation about the budget before the vote. During the presentation, Cesaro said the average homeowner with a house assessed at the township's average of $519,800 can expect a total tax bill of $8,488 this year. The municipal portion would remain the same at about $582.18. The county portion is expected to rise from $1,310 to $1,325. The open space portion would remain at $208, and the school portion would increase from $6,196 to $6,373. The final county and open space tax rates still have to be determined by the county Board of Taxation, according to Cesaro. Cesaro said that the township's governing body had a mandate to keep the local tax rate steady, so there will not be a rate increase in the municipal portion of the tax bill this year. However, he said due to the increased property values in town as a result of the recent revaluation, there is an increase. In a breakdown of the 2007 tax rate, 7 cents of every dollar goes toward municipal expenses, Cesaro said. In contrast, 75 cents goes to the Upper Freehold Regional School District, 15 cents goes to the county, and 2.4 cents is earmarked for the municipal open space. The fund balance anticipated as revenue in the 2007 municipal budget has declined by about 15 percent since last year to $3.3 million. State aid increased about 2 percent from $741,101 last year to $755,507 this year. Fees from Uniform Construction Code fees dropped from $280,000 in 2006 to $230,000 in 2007. Receipts from delinquent taxes have risen by a third, from $300,000 last year to $400,000 in 2007. The amount to be raised by taxation for municipal purposes has more than doubled in the past seven years, from $678,000 in 2001 to almost $1.5 million this year. Cesaro said that as property taxes increase, municipalities have not received a proportionate share of state aid. Cesaro said the 2006 tax collection rate dropped from 98 percent to 97 percent, mainly due to the revaluation last year. More than half, 53.4 percent, of the 2007 municipal budget is for general operations. The next largest amount, 22.6 percent, is in reserve for uncollected taxes. Cesaro said the reserve is an "insurance policy," since the township must pay 100 percent of the tax levy to the county and school, whether or not the amount is collected from all taxpayers. Almost 15 percent of the budget is for municipal debt service, while 5.5 percent goes for capital improvements and 3.9 percent is slated for deferred charges and statutory expenditures. The general operations portion of the budget is further broken down with 26.5 percent going to the general government, 15.3 percent going to public works, nearly 13 percent going to insurance, and 12 percent going toward public safety. Code enforcement and administration accounts for 8.2 percent, followed by utilities at 4.9 percent, parks and recreation at 4.3 percent, municipal court at 3.9 percent, and health and human services and land use administration each account for 3.3 percent. Miscellaneous expenditures are 4.8 percent of the budget. Cesaro said that insurance has had the largest increase this year, but the township has limited control over the cost of health benefits.