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State aid cuts may cause $56 increase
(by Kathryn A. Burger - March 12, 2008)
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Park Ridge 2008 Municipal Budget
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| Cost to operate the borough: $11,410,492 |
| Amount to be raised by taxes: $7,642,348 |
| Tax levy on $505,000, the average assessed home value: $2,234 |
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Increase over last year: $76
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Increase if state aid cuts totaling $200,73I are restored: $20
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Even though the tax levy in the preliminary
Park Ridge municipal budget for 2008 is well under the state-mandated cap of four percent, the council is intent on reducing it further.
The tax levy on a
Park Ridge home assessed at the borough average of $505,000 would go up about $76 to $2,234 for fiscal 2008 if the preliminary municipal budget discussed at the March 4 council meeting is approved as is. Last year was the first year in recent memory that the tax rate went up, according to Ann Kilmartin, the borough treasurer. That is a trend the council does not want to continue.
The much-publicized cuts in state aid contained in the budget proposed by Governor Jon Corzine would result in the borough receiving $453,600 for fiscal 2008, $200,713 less than last year. (See related article this page). If state aid had remained at last year’s levels, the tax increase for the average property owner for 2008 would have been about $20.
Making an already complex process more so, municipalities have been instructed to use the new aid figures in their budgets, even though the state budget has not been approved. Another factor complicating the budget process is that its fiscal year is a calendar year and the state’s fiscal year is July to June. The borough has to adopt its budget by April 30, two months before the state budget is approved.
The majority of the expense side of the budget consists of fixed costs – salaries, benefits, Social Security and pensions, and paying down the borough debt, among them. The task of finding about $151,000 to cut in order to achieve a zero tax increase is one the Finance Committee is tackling with vigor. A second look at budget proposals submitted by the police and fire departments, the DPW, the Recreation Committee, and other departments, it hopes, will result in some savings. Other expense areas will also be revisited.
The budget was to have been introduced at the March 11 meeting, but the council decided to reschedule it for the March 25 meeting.
A summary of proposed budget will be published as a legal notice prior to its introduction. The borough also plans to include it in the quarterly newsletter sent to all residents.
Kathryn A. Burger's e-mail address is burger@northjersey.com.
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