Kean addresses budget cuts at town meeting West Long Branch to hold public hearing on municipal budget May 14 BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer WEST LONG BRANCH - Municipalities across New Jersey are preparing for drastic cuts in state aid, but Sen. Sean Kean, D-11, said the decreased funding could be less significant than initially proposed. Kean hosted a town meeting in West Long Branch on April 29 and told audience members that state municipal aid may be reinstated in some towns when New Jersey lawmakers vote on Gov. John S. Corzine's proposed 2009 state spending plan next month. "I think there is a strong possibility that you are going to see those proposed cuts being restored," Kean said. "I'm not clear on whether it's going to be [restored] 100 percent. "Around budget time, Republican governors and Democratic governors paint this picture that the sky is falling so that when they go and actually get [the budget] done, it doesn't hurt as much. "But it is going to hurt this year," he said, adding, "I really believe that." Kean said at the meeting that he believes Corzine could restore, or lower, municipal aid cuts before the state budget is voted on. Under Corzine's proposed spending plan, municipalities with a population of less than 10,000 residents are expected to have their state aid cut in half, according to Kean. Municipalities with a population below 5,000 residents will have their aid completely cut, Kean said. West Long Branch, which has a population of 8,272 residents, is expected to have its state municipal aid cut by $258,638 under Corzine's proposed 2009 spending plan, West Long Branch Mayor Janet Tucci explained at the meeting. "It's a tough budget," Kean said. "The towns are getting their aid cut even though the governor has been talking about restoring aid to towns with 10,000 residents and less," Kean said. "But the amount [that could be restored] still remains unknown," Kean added. At the meeting, Tucci thanked Kean for appearing before borough residents and also criticized Corzine for not giving municipalities enough time to prepare their budgets with the proposed state municipal aid cuts in mind. "Our budget was in place," Tucci said. "My colleagues and myself, we spent countless meetings putting our budget in place. We mind our money well," she said. "We do a very good job of keeping our tax rate for municipal purposes very low in town. "And then we are all set to introduce our budget and we get cut almost $300,000," Tucci said. "So now it's back to the drawing board. "So what do we do? Do we cut a police officer? Do we cut public works, so people only have garbage pickup once a week?" Tucci asked. "I mean it was a very, very difficult process and we can't assume that the money is coming back, because we are going to be adopting our budget in a couple of weeks." The Borough Council is expected to hold a public hearing on its proposed municipal budget on May 14. Council introduced its proposed $9 million spending plan for on April 16. If approved, borough residents would have to raise a $5.5 million tax levy. The budget carries with it a 2.6-cent tax rate increase. Under the proposed budget, borough taxpayers will see an increase from last year's 3.84 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation to 4.10 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.