Tinton Falls budget keeps tax rate flat

Tinton Falls budget keeps tax rate flat
$21.8M spending plan is 4% increase over last year
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer

TINTON FALLS — The Borough Council introduced a $21,801,213 spending plan on May 5, with no increase to the tax rate.

The budget represents about a 4 percent increase over last year's $20.9 million budget.

The council voted 4-1 to introduce the budget at the council meeting, with Councilman Michael Skudera casting the lone vote against introduction.

Members were precluded from commenting on the budget during the introduction, but Skudera later said the proposed budget depletes surplus funds.

"I just can't support a budget that is draining the surplus this much," Skudera said during the meeting. "I submit my recommendations to council. I implore council and the administration to think of more cuts too."

According to Skudera, the surplus was $230,228 in 2005 and is now about five times less at $48,848.

Skudera expressed concern that with the economy in a recession, it might not be a good idea to drain the surplus further.

"I'm just afraid of going to the next fiscal year draining the budget this low," Skudera said. "It's down to $48,000, given the impact of the economy next year we could be in for a big tax hike."

The borough will receive $1,873,831 in state aid, $44,000 less than last year's $1,921,000.

"When you have a $21 million budget, $44,000 isn't a death sentence," Finance Director Stephen Pfeffer said in March. "We will look for ways to fine tune the budget so that we don't raise taxes."

The 2009 budget calls for a tax levy of $10,605,992, a $288,352 increase from last year's $10,317,640.

Pfeffer said the municipal portion of the tax rate will remain flat at $0.353 per $100 of assessed valuation.

He said the owner of an average home in Tinton Falls valued at $343,915 will pay $1,213 in municipal taxes under the budget as proposed.

Some of the increases in the budget include salaries and state pension payments. The borough changed medical insurance carriers in 2009 to stabilize health insurance costs. The increase in the group insurance budget is approximately 2.2 percent.

"There are no crazy changes," Pfeffer said. "The surplus remains the same, miscellaneous revenues are up, state aid is down."

According to Borough Clerk Karen Mount-Taylor, the public hearing on the budget is slated for June 16, with the budget up for adoption at the meeting after that.

However, furloughs on the state side may cause a delay in the adoption of the budget.

"They are shorthanded," Pfeffer explained. "And because of the furlough situation at the state level, they're going to try to get as many [budgets] as they can.

"If they don't get to any particular budget on the night you advertise for the public hearing, you hold the public hearing. Just don't adopt the budget until they get a chance to review it and they will let us know when we can adopt it."

Contact Kenny Walter at

kwalter@gmnews.com.