Stable tax rate hailed as bipartisan achievement
Councilman: State has failed Milltown by reducing aid
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer

MILLTOWN - Residents bracing themselves for a 6-point tax hike can rejoice. Borough officials last week announced a zero increase for taxpayers.

"We do have a fiscal responsibility to ease the burden of the taxpayers who put us into office," Councilman Mike Skarzynski said. "This is truly a bare-bones budget. You can't cut another penny out of it."

Mayor Gloria Bradford expressed the same sentiment regarding the 2007 municipal tax rate, which is one component of a homeowner's property tax bill, along with school, county and open space taxes.

"It was achieved by every department looking at their budgets and going below bare-bottom," Bradford said. "I think this is a good example of what happens when Democrats and Republicans work together and put their political aspirations aside for the good of the residents."

Council President Eric Steeber challenged the council members to examine the budgets of their respective departments and reduce them as much as possible at a finance committee meeting, according to Skarzynski. He said he found $5,500 surplus in the public works budget for snow removal, and Councilman Joseph Cruz cut about $10,000 from recreation, among other items. According to Cruz, the recreation department discovered that less chlorine was used this year in the town's pool, so it was able to eliminate some of those costs.

"We dipped deep into the surplus and gave it back to the residents," Skarzynski said. "You can't eat surplus. You can't clothe your children with surplus, and if you're an elderly person, you can't buy medication with surplus."

Though cuts were made in various departments, Bradford said residents will not suffer from them.

"It will not affect services," she said. "We still have the same high-quality services that we've always had in town."

The majority of the cuts were gleaned from the borough's utilities department, specifically from electrical surplus, said Councilman Bill Deinzer, liaison to that department.

"We have enough in surplus now in case anything comes across the board," Deinzer said. "We have money in surplus, and the taxpayers have been screaming for it. We'll be OK with the electric."

Milltown received $50,000 in extraordinary state aid, which is a reduction from some previous years. At one time, the borough received $250,000 to defray taxes, Skarzynski said.

"I think the state has failed us," Cruz said. "We came up with enough to give the taxpayers a breather, keep their heads above water ... [but] we get penalized, and we're getting less and less. We're penalized, and the bigger towns, the cities, who don't mind their p's and q's, it seems like the state rewards them."

Though Cruz said he is grateful for the aid the town received, he said smaller municipalities are suffering by the hands of state legislators.

"Someone has got to help the little towns too, because we're really suffering," Cruz said.

Despite the drop in state aid, and increases in the price of goods and services along with borough workers receiving contractual raises, borough officials were still able to achieve a stable rate for taxpayers.

"This is probably the proudest I've ever been of the budget," Skarzynski said.

The total budget stands at $8,100,733, with the tax rate remaining at almost 78.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, according to Borough Auditor Andrew Hodulik.

Residents will have a chance to comment on the budget at the Sept. 10 council meeting, when it is scheduled for adoption.

"I anticipate that the budget will be adopted across bipartisan lines," Skarzynski said.