PETERSBURG — Committeeman Curtis Corson said preliminary indications are that the 2024 budget will require a 1.4-cent increase in the municipal tax rate.
Corson, who oversees the Revenue and Finance Department, said Feb. 12 that Township Committee is expected to introduce the spending plan at its next meeting, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 26, at Township Hall.
Township Administrator Gary Demarzo said he preaches cooperation, consolidation and collaboration.
“The goal was stability and stability through involvement of management and the advice of professionals equals success — that is what we achieved in this budget this year,” he said.
Factors working to keep the tax rate from increasing further include a reduction of health costs, shared services, hiring practices and “everyone kind of doing double duty,” Demarzo said.
Township Committee introduced a $15,798,320 spending plan in 2-23 that was $550,000 greater than the previous year and called for a rate increase of 2.8 cents per $100 of assessed value. The increase raised the municipal tax rate to 28 cents, resulting in a bill $80 higher for an average assessed home.
This year’s proposed budget is expected to be about $17,233,709, $900,000 higher than the final 2023 budget of $16,325,066 with a tax rate of 29.4 cents per $100. That amounts to about $42 annually for a home assessed at $300,000, he said.
Demarzo said the majority of the increase would go toward debt service, worker obligations and increasing health benefits costs.
The administrator pointed out that of the $41 million in taxes it collects, only $5 million, or about 13 percent, is used by the municipality while the school budget accounts for 71 percent and the county another 16 percent.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff