They trim proposed tax hike from 3.49 to 1.5 cents per $100
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
NORTHFIELD — City Council started its budget workshop Feb. 11 with a spending plan requiring a 3.49-cent tax rate increase but trimmed 2 cents off after eliminating some spending requests.
The $13.4 million budget, if approved as is, would increase the municipal tax rate by 1.5 cents, from 96.8 cents per $100 of assessed value to 98.3 cents. That would raise the payment on each $100,000 of assessed value from $968 to $983, or $15.
The municipal increase would be in addition to local and regional school and county taxes, which Chief Financial Officer Dawn Stollenwerk calculated at $3.547 per $100, or $3,547 per $100,000, based on the maximum of a 2.5 percent increase for each.
Discussion included the city’s continued funding of school crossing guards, new vehicles and related equipment for the office of emergency management and police department staffing.
Costly crossing guards
Due to Northfield Community School’s schedule change in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, crossing guard coverage increased dramatically last year, as did its cost. The school implemented split-day sessions, increasing the coverage to five and a half hours each school day for each of the 13 stations around the city instead of two hours five days a week — one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In addition, the arrival and dismissal times were staggered by an hour for the elementary and middle schools. So instead of 10 hours a week per station, the need was 22 hours per station.
The school district, led by Superintendent Pete Bretones, refused to budge, forcing the city to pick up the tab. The Police Department hires and pays the guards.
Salaries and wages were set to increase $229,580. More than half of that, $147,000, was budgeted for additional crossing guard coverage through June and then September to December. After some debate it was decided to fund the extra shifts through June, as the city had previously committed to doing, but to fund only the two hours a day in the fall. That allowed the city to remove about $70,000 in appropriations from the budget.
The point may very well be moot, though, if the school district returns to full in-person instruction before that time.
Councilman Frank Perri suggested informing the local school district immediately.
Council President Tom Polistina said it’s the right thing to do to fund the crossing guards until the end of the school year, agreeing to inform the district now while it is crafting its budget.
“We don’t want to leave them out in the cold,” Polistina said. “We’ll take it to the end of the year and let them figure out an alternative.”
Homeowners will pay it either way, as the burden would just be shifted from the city to the school budget.
According to a 2019 property tax analysis by The Asbury Park Press of information from the Department of Community Affairs, school taxes make up more than 50 percent of New Jersey property tax bills.
Last year in Northfield, where the average home price was $223,355, the average tax bill was $7,477, with the school tax making up 55 percent, or $4,112. In comparison, the municipal portion of the tax bill was $2,159.
Emergency management
During the workshop, council listened to a presentation from Tim Joos, the city’s emergency management coordinator, who had requested the purchase of two vehicles at $40,000 apiece outfitted with necessary gear and communications equipment for another $44,000 each.
Joos said the vehicles would replace a 20-year-old pickup truck and a retired police vehicle currently used by him and deputy coordinator Eric Leeds.
Joos said the lack of proper emergency management vehicles came to a head last year, when it was discovered that the city had a lack of coordination and a lack of documentation that would allow Northfield to be repaid for expenses in the event a natural disaster is declared.
“We need to improve resiliency by incorporating emergency management into standard operations,” Joos said, noting the goal is to be self-sufficient for 72 hours after a disaster.
Raising the level of resiliency and operations also opens the city to receiving more federal grants, Joos said.
Joos also requested the purchase of two light towers for use at accident scenes and in the case of power outages. Mayor Erland Chau noted that during a storm last year, police officers were directing traffic at Tilton Road and Route 9 in the dark, putting themselves in danger.
Council agreed to a $258,000 one-time increase in the emergency management budget, which also includes the purchase of four generators ($5,000) and furniture for a basement office.
Police personnel
Chau, who oversees public safety, requested funds to promote two police officers — one to lieutenant and the other to fill the vacated sergeant position — and hire another.
He said the administrative duties of the captain and lieutenant have increased dramatically.
According to the budget summary, the cost of the promotions in this year’s spending plan would be $8,543 for the lieutenant and $6,539 for the sergeant, with those costs compounding year by year along with their pensions. Hiring a new police officer would cost $41,127 plus benefits in the first year.
Council discussed the command structure of the department, noting that the promotions would leave it top-heavy, with a chief, captain, two lieutenants, a detective sergeant, two detectives, four sergeants and 11 patrol officers.
Chau argued that the top administrators in the department are nearing retirement age and that the promotions would allow for a younger officer to gain valuable supervisory experience that will be needed in the future, as well as offering more than one candidate for advancement.
Council members asked about the use of civilian workers and it was decided to increase the non-police staff from one full- and one part-time employee to two full-time employees but to forgo the promotions and new hire.
Assessed value still falling
The city’s total assessed value, $869,648,060, continues to fall, this year dropping more than $2.6 million even with $3.2 million added, mostly from the Cresson Hill complex. That loss accounts for one-third of a cent on the tax rate.
But that loss is much less than in years past. Stollenwerk said the city has lost an average of $12.3 million per year since the revaluation in 2010, realizing a total loss of $123 million in that time.
She said tax assessments are slightly above 100 percent, so the city is in good shape in that respect and will stand to gain as the market improves.
The budget calls for using $1.28 million in surplus — $209,000 more than was used in 2020. That would leave $1,180,788. That means the city would be using more than 50 percent of its surplus.
Stollenwerk said it is the city’s policy to keep between 5 percent and 10 percent of the operating budget reserved in surplus. This year the city will be keeping a little less than 10 percent.
Stollenwerk, calling 2020 “a strong financial year,” said the city was able to use $125,000 left over from 2020 due to strong tax collection, which was 98.35 percent, beating the previous year of 97 percent. That generated $780,000 more in tax revenue for the city, helping to offset the loss in ratables as well as increases in salaries and wages, operating expenses and pension obligations, the latter of which is up $109,000.
The city operates as if 96 percent tax collection is 100 percent so that if it falls short it can still pay 100 percent of the school and county taxes despite what is collected. Anything over that goes back to the general fund or surplus.
“Actually this was the best tax-collection year we’ve had in a long time,” Stollenwerk said.
On the revenue side, the city is down $138,640. Stollenwerk said that’s due to the loss of $56,000 in court fees and $70,000 in user fees due to COVID-the pandemic.
The next budget workshop is scheduled for 3 p.m. Feb. 25 with both in-person and virtual attendance. City Council plans to introduce the spending plan by March 30 and adopt it by April 30.