West Long Branch proposes $8.7M budget
Spending plan would raise tax rate by 2.9 cents
BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

WEST LONG BRANCH - - The Borough Council introduced a municipal spending plan for 2007 that, if adopted, would increase residents' taxes by 2.9 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

The $8,717,100 budget calls for an increase from last year's tax rate of 35.5 cents per $100 of assessed property value, to 38.4 cents per $100.

For the average borough homeowner whose home is valued at $474,500, the budget would result in an annual increase in taxes of $137.60, for an estimated total of $182,208, according to West Long Branch Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Gail Watkins.

The council unanimously voted to introduce the budget at the March 7 council meeting.

"Our focus is to provide a superior level of services to our residents with special emphasis on the areas of public safety and public works," said Mayor Janet Tucci at the meeting.

The increase in taxes, according to Tucci, is to deal with rising costs in the borough and slowing rising revenues.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled to be held April 18 at 8 p.m. at Borough Hall on Broadway.

If adopted, taxpayers will be asked to raise a total of $5,215,707, according to Watkins.

The total budget is up $773,885 from last year's budget of $7,943,215, according to Councilman J. Thomas Debruin, chairman of the Finance Committee.

The areas in the budget with the largest increases include collective bargaining agreements, according to Watkins, who said the increase was $206,000.

Other areas of increases include the capital improvement fund, which saw an increase of $182,000; and debt service, which would increase $280,000, according to Watkins

"Contractual obligations relating to collective bargaining agreements, the capital improvement fund and debt service are the main sources of operational increases," Tucci said.

In addition, the borough is in the fourth year of a five-year phase-in of the Police and Fireman's Retirement System pension contributions, as well as the third year of the Public Employees Retirement System pension contributions, which both contributed to the increase, according to Tucci.

Tucci added that although the borough's general liability insurance increased because of workman's compensation, the employee health benefits remained stable as a result of changing from the state health benefits plan to Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield in 2005.

On the revenue side of the budget, the state aid remained the same with the exception of an additional $22,065 from a the new state program, Municipal Property Tax Assistance, which was implemented this year, according to Tucci.

The borough also experienced an increase in the interest on investments, municipal court fees and interest on taxes, while seeing a decrease in construction fees, Tucci said.

"Most of our other revenues remained unchanged," she said.

At the meeting, Tucci also thanked the borough taxpayers for achieving a 99 percent collection rate, which, she explained, helps to keep the reserve for uncollected taxes at a minimum.