E.B. adopts tab with 20-cent tax rate hike
Despite cuts, revenue losses cause tax increase
BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK — After months of work by various committees and officials, the Township Council has adopted its 2009 municipal budget, which includes a 20-cent increase in the tax rate.

The council voted on the $60 million budget with little fanfare at its June 22 meeting, with Business Administrator James White noting that the tax increase stood at more than 40 cents before being whittled down through cuts and other changes over the past six months. He said every municipal department absorbed a reduction.

The tax increase — which raises municipal taxes by about $200 on a home assessed at $100,000 — is the result of a 12-percent drop in revenue from various sources, including the expected loss of an annual payment from Toll Brothers for the Golden Triangle redevelopment proposal. The township cannot anticipate the builder's annual payment of $4 million in light of litigation over the property. That amount of revenue would have cut the tax increase nearly in half.

Township officials cut nearly $5 million from last year's budget since Mayor David Stahl took over in January. Stahl and the coun- cil members eliminated several positions through layoffs and attrition, as well as freezing salaries for department heads.

The council held several workshops on the budget, and Stahl also formed a finance committee to make recommendations on budget decisions. The budget process also began earlier for the council than in prior years, allowing it the ability to cut items before the money was spent. Stahl, as a councilman in prior years, had often complained that the budget was presented too deep into the year, allowing for little in the way of adjustments.

Council President Catherine Diem applauded Stahl for forming the finance committee, which she said, "included a lot of healthy discussion," and helped to educate officials and residents on how the budget works. She said the committee benefited from the knowledge of members who work in the private sector.

Stahl said he could have reduced the tax rate increase about another 8 cents by deferring the township's obligation to the state pension fund. However, he said such a move would be shortsighted because it would end up costing East Brunswick more in the years ahead.

Municipal taxes are one component of a homeowner's property tax bill, which also includes school, county and open space taxes. The East Brunswick Board of Education's 2009-10 budget does not include a tax increase.