Change in assessment of B.L. England power plant lowers ratables
By BILL BARLOW/Special to the Sentinel
UPPPER TOWNSHIP — Property owners likely will face a tax increase when Township Committee introduces a municipal budget for 2020, expected Monday, March 9.
The hike, which township finance director Barbara Lund estimated will cost the average taxpayer about $45 for the year, was attributed to a combination of cost increases and a drop in the township ratables base, which took a hit in a reassessment of the BL England Generating Station after it ended operations last year.
The future of the plant has been a topic of great interest and speculation in the township. As part of the re-examination of the township’s master plan, on Thursday, Feb. 20, the Upper Township Planning Board discussed the possibility of rezoning the waterfront portion of the sprawling site as a new marina zone.
According to Mayor Rich Palombo, a member of the Planning Board, the proposal could open a path for redevelopment of the site, with the possibility of a waterfront hotel or other projects. The site also remains under consideration as a landing place for the electricity expected to be generated by a proposed offshore wind farm, providing an option to bring that power into the grid.
Palombo said the site could accommodate both options. He held out the possibility that the assessed value of the property could increase if a project moves forward. He was not certain about plans for the generating station or cooling tower, striking landmarks that can be seen for miles across the area’s bays and marshes.
The change will come to about a half-cent on the tax rate per $100 of assessed value, with another penny increase expected to cover spending increases this year. The total increase would come in at 1.6 cents on the local purpose tax rate, Lund estimated Monday. That would bring the tax rate to 21.1 cents per $100 of assessed value, for a township tax bill of $633 for the year on a house assessed at $300,000. That number does not include school or county taxes, and is far from final.
If introduced in March as expected, the budget would be advertised and be subject to a public hearing before a final vote expected in April.
On Monday, committee members spent the third workshop meeting of the new year combing the department budget proposals for potential spending cuts, not to avoid a tax rate increase but to bring the budget in under state caps on spending increases.
At the start of the process, committee members sought to trim more than $300,000 from spending requests submitted by the township department heads. By the Feb. 24 meeting, after trims made at previous meetings, committee needed further cuts.
“What I’m trying to do is present to you a path to find this $130,000 that we’ve got to find tonight,” said Committeeman John Coggins, who heads revenue and finance on Township Committee. “I’m fine with whatever that decision might be, but if we don’t find it here, we’ve got to go back and find it in other portions of the budget.”
It might be possible to cut 10 percent out of the budget proposals across the board, he said.
“You’ve got to realize, we’ve been through EMS; that’s been stripped to the bone, the lifeguards; that’s been stripped pretty bare-bones,” Coggins said.
As the biggest expense in the township budget, the Public Works Department may look like the best place to find savings, he said.
“But are they going to be able to withstand another $100,000? I don’t particularly see it,” he said.
But a portion of the cuts did fall on that department.
Some of the savings will come in the form of a retirement. Instead of replacing the position, the township plans to make do with a part-time employee for the summer.
At the meeting, Public Works Superintended Craig Reeves said he needs someone in the position but does not necessarily need someone with the experience of the person retiring.
Reeves also suggested the township could trim some of the money he requested to repair and maintain the trash and recycling collection trucks.
He had asked for a total of $50,000, saying he wanted to keep the current fleet on the road. On Monday, he said that could be trimmed, but at the same time he described it as a gamble if something were to go wrong. Reeves told committee he did not want to have to explain why he went over budget at the end of the year.
“All I’m trying to do is just keep the equipment going. That’s all I’m asking for,” he said.
“We could possibly have one or more trucks that are down because we’re not going to have the money,” Coggins said.
At one point, committee members were set to pull $20,000 from that spending request, or $10,000 for trash and the same reduction for recycling truck repairs. But Committeeman Curtis Corson suggested authorizing pulling $25,000 from the township’s recycling trust account for potential recycling vehicle repairs, an allowable use for the money. That would give the department the full $25,000 for potential trash truck repairs and still allow a $25,000 reduction to the budget.
A vote on that appropriation is also expected at the March 9 meeting. By putting off some employee promotions and adding in a rebate from the Joint Insurance Fund, of which the township is a member, committee members were able to reach their target.
More details remain to be worked out, including the final number for the township’s reserve for uncollected taxes. Lund said the numbers would be delivered to township auditor Leon Costello this week.
Last April, committee unanimously approved a $13.72 million budget with a municipal tax rate of 19.5 cents per $100 of assessed value.
