Council calling for a $30.2M town budget Taxpayers will see a 4.7-cent tax rate increase BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer OCEAN TOWNSHIP - The town council is expected to hold a public hearing on May 5 at town hall on the proposed $30.2 million 2008 municipal spending plan. The budget was introduced by council on March 19 and calls for township residents to raise a tax levy of $16.5 million. If approved by council, taxpayers would see a tax rate increase of 4.7 cents, according to Ocean Township Director of Finance Stephen Gallagher. Gallagher explained that due to Gov. Jon S. Corzine's proposed budget cuts, state aid allotted to municipalities will be "significantly" reduced. "As far as state aid goes, we basically had $300,000 chopped out of our aid number due to spending cuts from the governor's plan," Gallagher said. Initial budget estimates for the township prior to the governor's budget proposal called for a smaller tax increase of 3.9 cents. "The decrease in state aid tacked an extra six- to seven-tenths of a cent onto our tax rate," Gallagher said. Township taxpayers would see an increase from last year's 30.8 cents per $100 of assessed property value to 35.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation if the spending plan is approved by council. For the average homeowner whose home is assessed at $444,920, the budget would mean an additional $207 in taxes annually. In total, the average township taxpayer would be expected to pay $1,579 in municipal taxes annually under the proposed budget, Gallagher said. The largest spending increase proposed in the budget is the phasing in of pension payments for municipal employees, according to Gallagher. The pensions make up $1.47 million of the total spending plan, according to Gallagher. Under New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits (NJDPB) guidelines, public employers must contribute to the pension funds of their active employees. Until the 1990s, state municipalities were required to pay a portion of their employees' pension into the state pension fund, according to Gallagher. At that point, Gallagher explained, the state's pension fund was adequately funded enough to grant municipalities a moratorium on pension payments for their employees. In the early 2000s, the state's pension fund fell below 100 percent due to an increase in state employees and salaries. As a result of the drop in the state's pension fund, the NJDPB lifted its moratorium on municipal contributions, causing an increase in budgetary funds needed by the township to cover employee pensions. Township residents will have the opportunity to comment on the municipal budget at the May 5 meeting.